How to Be a Human Being

Last updated

How to Be a Human Being
How To Be A Human Being cover art.jpg
Studio album by
Glass Animals
Released26 August 2016
StudioWolf Tone Studios (London, England)
Genre Indie pop, R&B, hip hop, trip hop, psychedelic pop
Length43:16
Label
Producer
Glass Animals chronology
Zaba
(2014)		How to Be a Human Being
(2016)		 Dreamland
(2020)
Singles from How to Be a Human Being
  1. "Life Itself"
    Released: 18 May 2016 [1]
  2. "Youth"
    Released: 27 July 2016 [2]
  3. "Season 2 Episode 3"
    Released: 23 August 2016 [3]
  4. "Pork Soda"
    Released: 21 January 2017
  5. "Agnes"
    Released: 9 June 2017
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.5/10 [4]
Metacritic 74/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Consequence of Sound B [7]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Financial Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Mixmag 9/10 [11]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
NME 4/5 [13]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]

How to Be a Human Being is the second studio album by English indie rock group Glass Animals. It was released on 26 August 2016 by Wolf Tone and Caroline International in Europe, and Harvest Records in the United States. [16] The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics, who complimented its "sense of wonder" and "immediate impression", but felt it was somewhat premature. [17] There are a total of 11 songs on the track listing, along with 11 characters illustrated on the cover art. Each song, along with its unique personality and quirks, represents a person on the album. The album was nominated for the 2017 Mercury Prize.

Contents

Background

Following the release of their debut studio album Zaba , Glass Animals began an aggressive tour which saw them play over 140 concerts in Europe, Australia, the United States and Mexico. They appeared at Glastonbury, Falls Music Festival and Southbound in 2014, Coachella, Wakarusa, Bonnaroo, Firefly, Glastonbury again, Lollapalooza, Osheaga and Reading and Leeds in 2015, and the Forecastle Festival in 2016. [18]

How to Be a Human Being was simultaneously announced with the release of "Life Itself" and its respective music video. [19] The foursome toured Australia for their second time, before they returned to North America for the album's release. Four days after the album was released, the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , their third appearance on primetime television. [20]

The band wrote 11 songs based on 11 different characters, many of which were inspired by people they met and stories they were told during their travels while promoting Zaba. Each character was portrayed on the album cover, and some appeared in music videos for their respective songs. Among the actors portraying the characters were Brock Brenner, Dorian Hampton, Camila Ivera, Pat Janssen and Heidi Kaufman.[ citation needed ]

Commercial performance

The album made a debut on US charts with first week sales of 14,575 copies, with 10,117 being pure album sales. [21] [22]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Life Itself"
4:41
2."Youth"Bayley3:51
3."Season 2 Episode 3"
  • Bayley
  • Ben McFadden
4:04
4."Pork Soda"Bayley4:14
5."Mama's Gun"
4:27
6."Cane Shuga"Bayley3:17
7."[Premade Sandwiches]"Bayley0:36
8."The Other Side of Paradise"Bayley5:21
9."Take a Slice"Bayley3:50
10."Poplar St"Bayley4:23
11."Agnes"Bayley4:32
Total length:43:16

Notes

Personnel

Glass Animals

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [23] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [24] 68
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [25] 151
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [26] 50
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [27] 77
French Albums (SNEP) [28] 120
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) [29] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] 87
UK Albums (OCC) [31] 23
US Billboard 200 [32] 20
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [33] 2

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [34] Silver60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Journeyman</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Eric Clapton

Journeyman is the eleventh solo studio album by Eric Clapton. Heralded as a return to form for Clapton, who had struggled with alcohol addiction and recently found sobriety, the album has a 1980s electronic sound, but it also includes blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me", "Running on Faith", and "Hard Times." "Bad Love" was released as a single, reaching the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart in the United States, and being awarded a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1990. "Pretending" had also reached the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart the previous year, remaining at the top for five weeks.

<i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i> 1996 R.E.M. album

New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the following day in the United States. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was the band's final album recorded with founding drummer Bill Berry, original manager Jefferson Holt, and long-time producer Scott Litt. The members of R.E.M. consider the recorded album representative of the band at their peak, and fans generally regard it as the band's last great record before a perceived artistic decline during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It has sold around seven million units, growing in cult status years after its release, with several retrospectives ranking it among the top of the band's recorded catalogue.

<i>Victory</i> (The Jacksons album) 1984 studio album by the Jacksons

Victory is the fifteenth studio album by the Jacksons, released by Epic Records on July 2, 1984. The only album to include all six Jackson brothers together as an official group, Victory peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. Its most successful single, "State of Shock", peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

<i>The Fox</i> (Elton John album) 1981 studio album by Elton John

The Fox is the fifteenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1981. The album was produced by John, Clive Franks, and, for the first time, Chris Thomas, who would produce many more albums with John through most of the 1980s and 1990s.

<i>Days of Open Hand</i> 1990 studio album by Suzanne Vega

Days of Open Hand is the third studio album by Suzanne Vega. It was released on April 10, 1990, through A&M Records. The album was the follow-up to the successful Solitude Standing (1987). It was produced by Vega and Anton Sanko, who also co-wrote six of the album's eleven tracks. Recording took place across multiple studios throughout New York from late 1989 to early 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass Animals</span> English indie rock band

Glass Animals are an English indie rock band formed in Oxford in 2010. The band's line-up consists of Dave Bayley, Drew MacFarlane, Edmund Irwin-Singer, and Joe Seaward (drums).

<i>Zaba</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Glass Animals

Zaba is the debut studio album by English rock group Glass Animals, released on 9 June 2014 by Wolf Tone and Caroline International and on 17 June 2014 by Harvest Records in the US.

<i>Blieve Im Goin Down...</i> 2015 studio album by Kurt Vile

B'lieve I'm Goin Down... is the sixth studio album by American indie rock musician Kurt Vile, released on September 25, 2015, on Matador Records. A deluxe edition, B'lieve I'm Goin (Deep) Down..., featuring six additional tracks, was released on the same day.

<i>Stranger to Stranger</i> 2016 studio album by Paul Simon

Stranger to Stranger is the thirteenth solo studio album by American folk rock singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Produced by Paul Simon and Roy Halee, it was released on June 3, 2016 through Concord Records. Simon wrote the material over a period of several years, perfecting it and rewriting it to his liking. Its music is experimental, making use of custom-made instruments by composer and music theorist Harry Partch. Three of the songs on the album are collaborations with Italian electronic artist Clap! Clap!.

<i>Remember Us to Life</i> 2016 studio album by Regina Spektor

Remember Us to Life is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Regina Spektor. Spektor announced that it would be released on September 30, 2016, on July 22, 2016. The lead single of the album is "Bleeding Heart", which is available to listen in full via SoundCloud via Spektor herself.

<i>22, A Million</i> 2016 studio album by Bon Iver

22, A Million is the third studio album by American indie folk band Bon Iver, released on September 30, 2016. Recorded in lead member Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the album marks a major shift in the band's sound and incorporates elements of electronic music and hip hop production influenced by Vernon's prior work with Kanye West. Most of the lyricism concerns Bon Iver's rise in popularity and how Vernon's relationship with the world has changed as a result.

<i>DNCE</i> (album) 2016 studio album by DNCE

DNCE is the debut studio album by American band DNCE. It was released through Republic Records on November 18, 2016. The album features a sole guest appearance from Kent Jones. Production was handled by Ilya, Rami Yacoub, Albin Nedler, Kristoffer Fogelmark, Mattman & Robin, OzGo, Oscar Holter, Sir Nolan, Mailbox, and Aaron Z. It includes three out of four songs from their debut EP, Swaay (2015). DNCE is a dance-pop album with influences of new wave, dance-rock, disco, and alternative pop. Production was handled by a variety of record producers, such as Ilya Salmanzadeh, Rami Yacoub, Mattman & Robin, Justin Tranter, and Sir Nolan.

<i>Heartworms</i> (album) 2017 album by The Shins

Heartworms is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Shins, released by Columbia Records on March 10, 2017—the band's first studio album in five years. It was produced by James Mercer, with the exception of "So Now What", which was produced by former band member Richard Swift. The album art is based on the Japanese Ukiyo-e triptych Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre.

<i>American Utopia</i> Album by David Byrne

American Utopia is the eighth studio album by Scottish-American rock musician David Byrne, released on March 9, 2018 through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records. The release is his first solo studio album since 2004's Grown Backwards, and serves as a musical component of a larger multimedia project titled Reasons to Be Cheerful, which attempts to spread positivity. Byrne announced the album and posted its lead single, "Everybody's Coming to My House", online on January 8, 2018.

<i>Fever Dream</i> (Of Monsters and Men album) 2019 studio album by Of Monsters and Men

Fever Dream is the third studio album by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, released on 26 July 2019 through Republic Records. The album was co-produced by the band with Rich Costey, and was preceded by the lead single "Alligator".

<i>Thanks for the Dance</i> 2019 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Thanks for the Dance is the fifteenth and final studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released posthumously through Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings on November 22, 2019. It is the first release following Cohen's death in November 2016, and includes contributions from various musicians, such as Daniel Lanois, Beck, Jennifer Warnes, Damien Rice and Leslie Feist. The song "The Goal" was released with the announcement of the album, on September 20, 2019.

<i>Dreamland</i> (Glass Animals album) 2020 studio album by Glass Animals

Dreamland is the third studio album by English indie rock band Glass Animals. It was released on 7 August 2020, having been pushed back from its initial release date of 10 July 2020.

<i>Dance Fever</i> (album) 2022 studio album by Florence and the Machine

Dance Fever is the fifth studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 13 May 2022 by Polydor Records. Work on the album was originally scheduled for early 2020 in New York City; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recording took place in London instead. Frontwoman Florence Welch has cited Iggy Pop as the biggest musical influence on the album; which features a variety of styles, ranging from progressive pop to indie pop, disco, and industrial music.

<i>Dropout Boogie</i> 2022 studio album by the Black Keys

Dropout Boogie is the eleventh studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released on May 13, 2022, by Easy Eye Sound and Nonesuch Records. The album was preceded by the release of two singles: the lead single "Wild Child", which was released on March 10, 2022, in conjunction with the album announcement, and "It Ain't Over", which was released on April 27, 2022.

<i>Higher Than Heaven</i> 2023 studio album by Ellie Goulding

Higher Than Heaven is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding, released on 7 April 2023 by Polydor Records. It is her first album in three years, since Brightest Blue (2020).

References

  1. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Life Itself – Single". iTunes . 18 May 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Glass Animals unveil new song "Youth" and video – watch". 27 July 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Season 2 Episode 3 – Single". iTunes . 23 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "How To Be A Human Being by Glass Animals reviews". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "Reviews for How To Be a Human Being by Glass Animals". Metacritic . Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Phares, Heather. "How to Be a Human Being – Glass Animals". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Freebairn, Mandy (1 September 2016). "Glass Animals – How To Be a Human Being". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Milton, Jamie (25 August 2016). "Glass Animals – How to be a Human Being". DIY . Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (2 September 2016). "Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being — review" . Financial Times . Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Gibsone, Harriet (25 August 2016). "Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being review – colourful stories, awkward grooves". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Glass Animals 'How To Be A Human Being' (Wolf Tone)". Mixmag . 9 September 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Prior, Clive (October 2016). "Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being". Mojo (275): 100.
  13. ↑ Bartleet, Larry (24 August 2016). "Glass Animals – 'How To Be A Human Being' Review". NME . Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Segal, Victoria (November 2016). "Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being". Q (365): 107.
  15. ↑ Moss, Will (9 August 2016). "Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being". The Skinny . Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Glass Animals – How To Be A Human Being". discogs. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  17. ↑ How to Be a Human Being by Glass Animals , retrieved 22 December 2016
  18. ↑ "Search for setlists: artist:(Glass Animals) | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  19. ↑ "Glass Animals Announce New Album 'How To Be A Human Being', Share Video For First Single 'Life Itself' – Music Feeds". Music Feeds . 8 June 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  20. ↑ "Watch Glass Animals Perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live!". Paste. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  21. ↑ "HITS Daily Double". Archived from the original on 2 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "HITS Daily Double". Archived from the original on 2 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  26. ↑ "Glass Animals Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  27. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  28. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  29. ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  31. ↑ "Glass Animals | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  32. ↑ "Glass Animals Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  33. ↑ "Glass Animals Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  34. ↑ "British album certifications – Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being". British Phonographic Industry.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.