How to Be a Human Being

For Glass Animals’ second album, the Oxford band opted not to write about themselves, but a range of characters they encountered while touring the world with their debut, Zaba. The result is fittingly kaleidoscopic, taking in twisted samples and African drumming (“Life Itself”), video game bloops (“Season 2 Episode 3”), and… Carpenters samples (“Mama’s Gun”). Their glittering tapestry of influences always blossoms into a captivating pop song—take “The Other Side of Paradise” with its dramatic, spiralling synths.