If you hadnt heard of Glass Animals by 2020, youd be forgiven. Itd be deeply surprising, but we could let it go.

Afterall, not everyone knows every band and we all have our musical blind spots. But if thats still the case this week, then surely youve been living off grid.

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The British four piece formed back in 2010 in Oxford, led by the warbling, weird and wonderful vocals of Davey Bayley. Not content with simple writing and singing these eccentric pop songs, Dave also produces them too and has done so across the three records theyve given us across a steadily swelling career. Their debut album Zaba made waves and their second album How To Be A Human Being saw them nominated for a Mercury Award in the UK but this story really gains steam around album three, last years aptly titled Dreamland.

Featuring big singles like Tangerine and Tokyo Drifting (featuring some supreme bars from Denzel Curry) were big singles but the biggest was yet to come the almighty Heatwaves.

Fast a fan favourite, the song set ears on fire and found a steady place in many hearts going on to become first a hot favourite for a high position in the 2020 Hottest before actually winning the damn thing. But you know all that. You know this band is a big deal, you know Daves voice is magic, you know his production is criminally clever and you know that theyve had a global influence in the way theyve married hip-hop beats, pop hooks and indie vocals.

What Im here to hit you with is something new.

If You Like is a regular series from Unearthed thats seen us serve you new crme in the spirit of Lime Cordiale, Benee, Ruel and Chance The Rapper. This time round Glass Animals get the If You Like treatment and we even sat down with Dave Bayley, central figure within the band and deep music fan, who lent us his time to listen to these acts and give us his opinions on them.

Sherbert synths and thundering bass that could level cities and lower mountains. This doesnt necessarily showcase the gallop and pop sensisbilities of a Glass Animals record but that woozy wonky production is front and centre and Abraham Tilbury serves up a left of centre vocal, drenches in production, thatd do Wavey Davey proud.

"I think the voices are amazing. The vocals sounds and production are insane with crazy weird vocal delays and pitches going on. I love an 808 bass, that deep heavy bass theyve got that and my favourite thing wonky drum beats. Where the drums groove but in a really unexpected way. The snare hits in the right place, but not where you expected it. Youve got some amazing chord work in there and theres a little bit in the middle eight where the chords get really tweaked and it sent a little tingle up my spine."

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We know Glass Animals have some deep roots in US hip-hop (listen to the audio special above to hear more about that!) so naturally I had to look deeper into that side of their sound for something fun, bouncy and a little bit thicc. US born but Sydney based rapper Dante Knows partnered up producer Tasker for this crunchy club jam, a slinky, late night bumper with production that sounds like an unravelling mind. Its a little unhinged but very cool.

"Firstly, theres this combination of acoustic drums and electronic drums. I spend a lot of time trying to get analogue sounds to fit with digital sounds so Tasker crushed it. Its really hard to get those worlds to work together! Its got the bass which is great, because if a song doesnt have heavy bass Im like 'Come on, just put one 808 in'. This song paints a picture really well, I feel like Im there. The beat has a real wonk to it so its a credit to Dante Knows, in the way his words and the beat work so well together to make you feel like youre blown out of your mind in the club."

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Ok youre gonna have to bear with me here because this just might be a longbow, but I reckon if you like Glass Animals, youre going to like this song from Molly Millington. Interestingly, Molly comes at music from an entirely different launch pad to Glass Animals with a background in acoustic and folkier pop sounds. She and Sydney producer Xavier Dunn teamed up on this mad and modern record of twisted production choices and pitch shifted vocals.

"Absolutely love it. I love that song, Im gonna listen to it a lot. The production and melody are super clever, its got this childish playful nursery rhyme feel which draws you in before you realize that these lyrics are tweaked. It feels so sinister! Its got so many amazing arrangement movements, big parts, little harmonies, little beat cuts and at the very end this Sergeant Pepper Style blowout? Wicked, Im going to listen to this every morning."

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Holyoak only just recently started uploading his music to Unearthed, with his debut upload Sit Tight. Of the five tracks in this playlist, this is the one that I that sounds most perfectly in line with Glass Animals by virtue of that wobbly vocal and left-of-center hook.

"The soundscape is so well crafted, warm and fuzzy. I want to know how you got that opening bass sound, its really clever, fuzzy and psychy. Youre voice sounds wicked and reminds me of a lot of bands I grew up with. It does make me feel a bit like Im on mushies, wandering through the space of my brain."

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Meet Komang, not just the vocalist and songwriter on this track but the producer too. She says she blends groove based production with her artistry influenced by her Balinese heritage to create vibrant electronic R&B. Its hazy and thick with groove, a great new offering from this modern songwriter.

"I listened to this song at 4am last night and it just felt right. That acid bass really threw me back. When I moved to South London I got into all these bass music like Mt Kimbie, Burial and Joy Orbison and this sort of bass sound takes me back to that time when I would come home from DJing at 4am and would have a little ciggie out the window to cool off, and this would be the perfect song for that moment. The drums sound super crisp and the combination with that bass is just great."

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Go here to read the rest:

Love Glass Animals? Meet these five local legends from triple j Unearthed. - Unearthed - triple j - ABC News