Two years ago, Glass Animals released their third studio album Dreamland. The Grammy Award-nominated band had big plans for the project, which marked their first following the recovery of drummer Joe Seaward, who was struck by a truck while riding his bike in Dublin in 2018. Frontman Dave Bayley thought the band was doomed, but they rallied together to complete the introspective record.
Now, on the anniversary of its release, Glass Animals are unveiling Dreamland: Real Life Edition, a collection of releases and live events that bring the album era to life in the way the band had always dreamed, but were unable to make a reality in the face of the pandemic.
“Back in 2020 we had this delicately constructed, intricate plan to launch Dreamland with a bunch of special shows, signings and real-life events,” Bayley explained in a statement. “Then… we got spanked by the pandemic and we had to tear our plan in half. I was pretty damn sad for a bit.”
To counteract the sadness, Glass Animals turned to their fans online, inviting them to become collaborators through the creation of artwork edits, song remixes, and more. Bayley added: “But eventually the support from everyone on the web was so great that it pulled me out of my mind-hole and I realised we could make a new plan… One based on the magnificent wonder that is the internet. We did that and it was absolutely wicked, but I still feel like we missed out on the IRL stuff. So, we thought we’d just have another go of it.”
Dreamland: Real Life Edition is a whopping 40-track collection featuring the complete Dreamland album and a slate of remixes that sees appearances from Arlo Parks, Denzel Curry, Albert Hammond Jr, Bree Runway, Diplo, and more. In addition to the digital version, Dreamland: Real Life Edition is also available with a limited edition glow in the dark vinyl featuring a new colorway artwork and a deluxe tracklist CD and cassette.
Glass Animals will also perform an exclusive Dreamland.IRL celebration concert at Village Underground in London on August 25. Tickets can be found on the official Glass Animals website.
The show will mark one of the most intimate shows the band has performed since they were catapulted into the pop music stratosphere following the booming success of “Heat Waves.”
The slow-burning single made its way into the Billboard Hot 100 seven months after Dreamland was released and spent the next 42 weeks moving its way up to the top 10, marking the longest climb to the feat in the chart’s history. Now, “Heat Waves” has been named the third-longest charting single in history on the Hot 100, just behind The Weeknd (“Blinding Lights”) and Imagine Dragons (“Radioactive”).
“This is our chance to do some of the things that were in our original plan, for the fans who have been there with us every step of the way,” Bayley added.