WATCH: Glass Animals unveil video for psychedelic new single ‘I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)’

Oxford four-piece Glass Animals have released their first single since their 2020 sophomore album Dreamland dropped, titled ‘I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)’.

The new track brings in elements of Tame Impala, with psychedelic synths and a groovy bassline, plus Dave Bayley's laidback whispery vocals and an addictive chorus.

Sharing the video for the new single last night, nostalgic North American scenes of fast food parlours are utilised for the visuals, with Bayley making a cameo appearance at the beginning.

“Talking is great, don't get me wrong. But this pandemic has made so many of us look inwards in a way we maybe haven’t before," Glass Animals songwriter/producer Dave Bayley says of the catchy new song.

"The uncertainty in the world and the inability to go out and create new memories makes you dig deep into the past. It really fed people's deepest insecurities and rattled our foundations in so many ways. Relationships changed, friendships altered, and self-confidence was warped. I spent a lot of time talking to my dog, but even more time talking to myself in my head (which was keeping me up all night), and my friends and family were doing the same."

“It felt like we were all put in a pressure cooker, but there was no way to let out the steam. That's what this track is about - that pressure cooker exposing and expanding so many cracks, but struggling to fill them in and decompress. I want people to switch their devices off, put this song on, close their eyes and have that release for a moment."

Last summer, Glass Animals released ‘Heat Waves’ with a video that was a “love letter to live music and the culture and togetherness surrounding it". Frontman Dave Bayley asked his East London neighbours to help film a video from their windows during lockdown, and the rest was history.

‘Heat Waves’ later became a one billion streaming global smash hit, entering the Billboard Top 20 and achieving double-platinum status in the USA and platinum in the UK. The track was crowned No.1 on Triple J’s Hot 100 in Australia – an accolade not given to a UK band since 2009 (with previous winners including Billie Eilish) and was performed at the 2021 Billboard Awards, live on Jimmy Fallon and Good Morning America, with the band also just being nominated for two MTV VMA Awards for “Best Alternative” and “Best Visual Effects”.

Dave Bayley and his bandmates are preparing to take on their biggest ever USA tour, selling 135,000 tickets in just three days. Their biggest ever sold-out UK headline show at London’s Alexandra Palace will take place on 19 November, and 'I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)’ conjures up the escapist mood of life post lockdown. Glass Animals are now able to rewrite their love letter to the culture and togetherness IRL.

Over the past year, Bayley has worked with the likes of 6lack, Flume, FJ Dahi, Joey Bada$$, Khalid, and Daytrip, also releasing ‘Space Ghost Coast To Coast’ featuring Bree Runway. Glass Animals collaborated with Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks on a new version of ‘Tangerine’, before elevating rising artists BENEE and Easy Life.

The psych-pop quartet have also recently worked with cult peanut butter brand Jackpot to raise money for Music Venues Trust, created a Simlish version of ‘Heat Waves’, as well as building a devoted Glass Animals fanbase inside Minecraft, even surprising a fan one evening with a band meet and greet inside the game.

With latest album Dreamland now surpassing 1.5 billion streams, Glass Animals have hit a new Spotify monthly listener peak of 21 million - surpassing the likes of Lorde, Tyler the Creator, Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, 6Black, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino and Tame Impala.

Revisit the Hot Press January 2021 interview with Dave Bayley here.

Check out the video for ‘I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)’ below:

Glass Animals UK & Irish tour dates, November 2021 – dates below:

08/11 Glasgow Barrowlands
10/11 Birmingham O2 Academy
11/11 Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse
13/11 Brighton Centre
14/11 Portsmouth Guildhall
15/11 Nottingham Rock City
17/11 Leeds O2 Academy
18/11 Bristol O2 Academy
19/11 London Alexandra Palace
21/11 Sheffield 02 Academy
22/11 Edinburgh Usher Hall
24/11 Dublin Olympia Theatre
25/11 Dublin Olympia Theatre
26/11 Liverpool Mountford Hall

Photo credit: Meredith Truax