What would happen if Nelly held Animal Collective captive in his basement and refused to let them out until they produced a full-length album? ZABA, the debut LP from UK-based Glass Animals. Blending syrupy falsetto with jungly beats, we think frontman Dave Bayley made the right choice in leaving psychiatry to pursue pop. In 2010, the then-med student wrote a few songs, asked three school friends if they wanted to be in a band, and the rest is Dave’s medical history. Their track “Gooey” has been stuck in our heads for months. Bayley croons, "You just wanna know those peanut butter vibes”––and we REALLY did.
So, before a recent show at New York's Bowery Ballroom, we brought two of the band’s members sandwiches from Peanut Butter & Co. and talked bad art, grammar, and denim versus khaki. (In case you’re curious, both boys vibed on the “Elvis” sandwich––coincidence?)
KATIE BARNWELL: You guys have been touring America a little bit already. How’s New York? Any anecdotes?
DAVE BAYLEY: I saw a dragon fruit. I didn’t know what they were. I thought they were some kind of dragon egg or something.
Did you eat it?
DB: I tried. I got told off by an old Chinese woman.
Joe?
JOE SEAWARD: No, but I got a good iced cwo-fee [does pretty good thick NY accent].
You guys are originally from Oxford. What are your stances on the Oxford comma? That’s if we’re talking about “Dave, Joe, and Katie,” it’s the comma after “Joe” and before “and.”
DB: Oh, that’s an interesting comma. I personally reject it even though I live in Oxford. [Looks at Joe, who’s shaking his head] Oh, you do use it? I mean, we might have to have a fight about this.
JS: I always use it, and then my girlfriend always tells me, “That comma doesn’t go there.” I’m like, “Yeah, it does!” [Ed. note: the OC blog team sides with Joe.]
DB: I think it’s poor grammar.
JS: And she’s like Grammar Queen—she speaks two languages fluently. So, I mean, she’s probably right. I speak English quite badly. I wouldn’t go by my reckoning. Personally I’d go with Dave rather than me.
DB: Joe and I are still friends despite our differences.
Summer 2014: denim or khakis?
JS: Ooh, khaki is making a comeback. Denim is old news. I think definitely khakis.
DB: Joe knows.
Okay, so you defer to Joe on the fashion stuff?
JS: Yeah—Dave: grammar, Joe: fashion.
Let’s talk about “peanut butter vibes.” What was the inspiration for the lyric?
DB: So, peanut butter to me reminds me of great times being kids, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with my mum and, you know, scooping it on a spoon, walking around the house, eating it when you’re like five years old. Yeah, so it just takes me back to my youth, basically.
You guys use the adjective “dank” in not one but two of th
JS: And she’s like Grammar Queen—she speaks two languages fluently. So, I mean, she’s probably right. I speak English quite badly. I wouldn’t go by my reckoning. Personally I’d go with Dave rather than me.
DB: Joe and I are still friends despite our differences.
Summer 2014: denim or khakis?
JS: Ooh, khaki is making a comeback. Denim is old news. I think definitely khakis.
DB: Joe knows.
Okay, so you defer to Joe on the fashion stuff?
JS: Yeah—Dave: grammar, Joe: fashion.
Let’s talk about “peanut butter vibes.” What was the inspiration for the lyric?
DB: So, peanut butter to me reminds me of great times being kids, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with my mum and, you know, scooping it on a spoon, walking around the house, eating it when you’re like five years old. Yeah, so it just takes me back to my youth, basically.
You guys use the adjective “dank” in not one but two of th