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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
It's testament to the band's skill that at no point does 'Dreamland''s infatuation with the East Coast come off as culture-vulture voyeurism. Instead, they have crafted a new geography of their own, pulling together all of their strengths and vulnerabilities.
8mo
80
The nostalgia would be overwhelming where it not for Bayley's ability to offset it with woozy, elastic beats, suggesting that all that time listening to Dr Dre wasn't wasted.
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9mo
80
It matches How to Be a Human Being in style and high points, if not quite variety or consistent quality. It may not convert unbelievers, but for fans, Dreamland is a continuation of a winning formula.
8mo
80
A brave and ultimately bold move, it’s hugely effective – direct yet sumptuously nuanced, ‘Dreamland’ is a triumph.
8mo
80
Dreamland is a very well executed album, it is progressive in all the right ways, without ever losing sight of the group’s quirky signature sound.
8mo
80
‘Dreamland’ is stuffed with effervescent nuggets of pop gold ... Yet look behind glittering shells of these tunes and you’ll find hugely personal stories, told with new strength and resilience.
8mo
80
Thinking of childhood in such analytical detail can throw up wonderful memories, sure, but it can bring out dark things, too – things that tend to hang around in later life. It makes for a complex, thoughtful and moving record.
8mo
80
Glass Animals' most cohesive and satisfying album to date, Dreamland is a well-deserved triumph that's as rewarding for fans to hear as it was for the band to make.
8mo
80
A heavy hip-hop influence pervades throughout, but the blueprint of the Oxford band remains: dreamy, danceable psych-pop beats providing the backdrop to the most troublesome of memoirs.
7mo
70
There are moments where the lyrics can get a bit ludicrous and some songs veer a bit too much towards the pop production of Maroon 5. Nonetheless, it’s brave and admirable for Dave Bayley and Glass Animals to take the challenging leap into more exposing lyrics.
8mo
60
The album makes room for evocative, sensory lyrics and sonics that verge on the cinematic, but it also spends a lot of time on the mundane.
8mo
60
It retains their hallucinogenic sound but injects it with more glimmers of autobiography than they’ve ever previously shared.
8mo
57
The UK psych-pop band stretches out to embrace hip-hop production and personal biography. It comes across like a guy trying to tell you his life story in a packed Coachella tent.
8mo
40
Dreamland is a project that’s as momentarily annoying as it is infinitely forgettable.
7mo
the first song written for dreamland is so electronically intimate that the original demo version made the album cut: glass animals have ascended into an institution (listen2 (déjà vu))
honestly though, it is a disappointing album; at its most basic this album is just fun
honestly though, it is a disappointing album; at its most basic this album is just fun
Bro what is this cringe vaporware aesthetic. I get it bro you think it's so cool and quirky but no, it's just cringe. Vaporware is for fucking dweebs, go listen to some real music like Dream Theatre or Meshuggah you Kevin Parker wannabe looking ass.
Glass Animals, in my opinion, are the best-case scenario of what mainstream indie-pop can sound like going into the 2020’s. In the age of the mono-genre, the English band have found a way to balance eccentric indie-pop melodies with exotic elements and trendy hip-hop/trip-hop rhythms. Ever since discovering them through their last ambitious full-length, 2016’s How To Be A Human Being, I’ve been highly anticipating what they would release next.
Where How To Be A Human Being ... read more
Where How To Be A Human Being ... read more
This may be my most controversial take on the site, but fuck it.
A friend introduced me to this band a few weeks ago, and I went into this album not really knowing what to expect. But damn, I really loved some of the material on this thing. There are just so many amazing tracks on here, "Space Ghost Coast To Coast" and "Heat Waves" are certified bangers, "Tokyo Drift" goes hard as shit, and "Domestic Bliss" and "It's All So Incredibly Loud" are ... read more
A friend introduced me to this band a few weeks ago, and I went into this album not really knowing what to expect. But damn, I really loved some of the material on this thing. There are just so many amazing tracks on here, "Space Ghost Coast To Coast" and "Heat Waves" are certified bangers, "Tokyo Drift" goes hard as shit, and "Domestic Bliss" and "It's All So Incredibly Loud" are ... read more
I don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be, but GOD this is just painfully mediocre. Its so middle of the road, it presents nothing new, and it just... kinda exists. I really do think Glass Animals are a really interesting band, and I sincerely hope they find their footing with their next album.
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Track List
- Dreamland
- Tangerine
- ((home movie: 1994))
- Hot Sugar
- ((home movie: btx))
- Space Ghost Coast To Coast
- Tokyo Drifting
- Melon and the Coconut
- Your Love (Déjà Vu)
- Waterfalls Coming Out Your Mouth
- It’s All So Incredibly Loud
- ((home movie: rockets))
- Domestic Bliss
- Heat Waves
- ((home movie: shoes on))
- Helium
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Added on: April 30, 2020