Glass Animals seem compelled to find as many perspectives on the human condition as they possibly can. It's a subject they tackled with breadth on
How to Be a Human Being's winsome vignettes and with autobiographical depth on
Dreamland's dive into the sounds and memories of
Dave Bayley's youth. On
I Love You So F***ing Much, the band's approach is equal parts fantasy and intimacy. The success they experienced with
Dreamland -- and its multi-platinum single "Heat Waves" in particular -- was as isolating as it was exciting, and left
Bayley feeling as lonely as an astronaut who realizes that love and connection are the most powerful forces in the universe. That's the guiding concept of
Glass Animals' fourth full-length, and they use it to create a sound-world that is just as enveloping as
Dreamland. Where that album's sprawl was held together with home movies,
I Love You So F***ing Much is united by its cinematic sounds and sci-fi imagery. "Show Pony"'s speedrun through an entire relationship is set to wandering synths and acoustic strumming inherited from
David Bowie's "Space Oddity"; the interstellar symphonic drama of "A Tear in Space (Airlock)" owes a significant debt to
Ennio Morricone. Though nostalgia isn't the focus like it was on
Dreamland,
Bayley and company still wield it cleverly. "On the Run," which combines allusions to
Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, doo wop backing vocals borrowed from
the Flamingos' "I Only Have Eyes for You," and the sidewinding balladry of
Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?," is a charmingly bittersweet tale of finding the escape hatch from a doomed love affair. Indeed, aside from the momentary bliss of "Creatures in Heaven," most of
I Love You So F***ing Much's attempts at connection are fractured at best. Fortunately, it makes for gripping listening, whether it's the candid yearning of "I Can't Make You Fall in Love Again" or the final thoughts of a kidnapping victim on "Whatthehellishappening?" This is easily
Glass Animals' darkest album, and "Wonderful Nothing"'s jabbing sarcasm and "How I Learned to Love the Bomb"'s volatility pull their songwriting taut and sharpen their hooks. While nothing here is as immediately ingratiating as "Heat Waves" -- the trap-driven parallel universes of "White Roses" might come closest -- it's to the band's credit that they didn't try to recapture that song's lightning-in-a-bottle popularity.
Dreamland may have been the album that made
Glass Animals big, but song for song,
I Love You So F***ing Much's thoughtful, anxious pop might be more rewarding. ~ Heather Phares
