Frontman Dave Bayley of indie-psychedelic sensations Glass Animals has recently delivered a moving solo performance of the band’s latest single, Heat Waves. Glass Animals streamed Bayley’s reimagining of Heat Waves live on their official YouTube channel on Friday 10th July, premiering Bayley’s performance to over 597,000 subscribers. Gathering over 24,000 views, Bayley’s rendition is already widely popular amongst fans.
Filmed at the deserted London concert hall, Hackney Earth, Bayley’s performance takes place where the Heat Waves music video was recently shot. The performance features Bayley sitting alone, tenderly picking at his electric guitar, delivering a hazy rendition of the track.
Bayley is bathed in blue and pink stage lights, his hypnotic voice enveloping the entirety of the empty gig venue. The camera slowly turns between various close-up shots, giving the performance an intimate feel. Bayley’s astounding vocals carry just as powerfully in the unoccupied Hackney Earth as they would in a packed-out Glass Animals gig, conveying the musician’s vocal versatility.
Where Heat Waves is a pop-psyche, synthesised sensation, Bayley’s solo performance is a divergent reworking of the vibrant, percussively charged original. Singing the track’s wistful lyrics, “Sometimes all I think about is you/Late nights in the middle of June”, Bailey’s stripped down rendition allows the track’s poignant lyricism to resonate all the more deeply.
Within the YouTube livestream Glass Animals also included a direct link to make donations for Crew Nation. Formed by Live Nation to combat Covid-19’s strain on the music industry and its live performance workers, Glass Animals shared their support for Crew Nations and independent music venues with the following statement: “Hackney Earth is one of my favourite local independent venues here in London…one of the many live music institutions at risk of closure. Miss you all and hope to be playing live again soon. Donate here if you can.” Donations to Crew Nation can be made here.
Dropping after the recently celebrated singles Your Love (Déjà Vu), Tokyo Drifting and Dreamland, Heat Waves is the fourth treasure from Glass Animals in the wake of their highly anticipated third album. Also entitled Dreamland, the band postponed its release from 7th July to the 7th August out of respect and solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement. Glass Animals said of the album’s postponement: “All eyes and minds need to be focused on civil rights…the fight for civil rights is so much bigger than any single piece of music.”
Formed in Oxford, Glass Animals is made up of members Dave Bayley, Drew Macfarlane, Edmund Irwin-Singer and Joe Seaward. Meeting each other during secondary school, Glass Animals have been making eclectic music together since 2010. After drummer Joe Seaward experienced a horrific bike accident, Glass Animals took a creative hiatus, but are now back and geared for Dreamland’s release. Seaward said to NME of his return: “There is no better feeling in the world than writing and recording a song and feeling proud of it”.
