Glass Animals is an English group who has gained a massive following for their bold and boundary-pushing music. Their latest song, which will be a part of their upcoming album, is “Your Love (Déjà vu).”
The song begins immediately. Fast paced synths and swirly high-pitched “woo” noises kick the song off with very little prelude. A quick trap beat continues in the background as Frontman Dave Baley begins to sing, “Mmm, I shut my eyes/You call but I just cut the line/I know your style/I know that you want one more night/And I’m backsliding/Into this just one more time…Mmm, I shut my eyes/You call but/I just cut the line/I know your style.I know that you want one more night/And I’m backsliding Into this just one more time.”
Reminiscent of the themes of fellow English band, Arctic Monkey’s 2013 hit “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High,” the chorus begins to fully flesh out the meaning of the song – wanting to return to someone, but them only wanting one thing, “I can feel your love/Your temporary touch/It’s a hit and run/You go back there when you’re done/Don’t you want some more?/’Cause I can feel your love.”
The a later verse elaborates, “Maybe in time/When we’re both better at life/Daylight can open my eyes/And you’ll still be by my side/But meanwhile I’ve got my Kodak high/You’ve got your powdered lies/We’ve got these summertime nights/Night by night/I’ll let you eat me alive/I want you to eat me alive/I want you to eat me alive.” The pair in the song have history, but a shallow connection that will continue to do nothing but consume.
Dave shared, “I think we’ve all found ourselves in fucked up relationships that make us feel sad and helpless. Not necessarily something romantic—maybe it’s with a family member or a friend. A relationship that we know on some level is going to keep breaking our hearts. We let that person back into their lives over and over again, even though it always ends the same. Maybe you don’t confront it because you hope it’ll change with time. Or because it’s easier to let it slide and never set boundaries. Maybe you think you deserve that unhappiness. Or maybe you find some strange comfort in the chaos. This song is about that…about being addicted to chaos. About doing or allowing something self-destructive because on some level you get off on the sadness that comes of it. It’s about wanting to float around and exist inside of that feeling because it has always been familiar to you. It’s something that a lot of people know from growing up in a tense household…so it can feel right to create that dynamic, even if you don’t realize you’re doing it.”
The song feels as though you’re in a dream-like state, darting through a funhouse, sprinting from start to finish. “Your Love (Déjà vu)” is about refusing to experience déjà vu, after turning back to the same person over and over again.
You can stream “Your Love (Déjà vu)” everywhere now.
Feature image courtesy of Glass Animals’ team at Republic Records
