Glass Animals, Shepherd's Bush Empire

Glass Animals have been slowly but steadily gathering a cult following over the last few years with every new release of their psychedelic synth-pop sound, and next March will see them visit London midway through their first European headline tour, in support of their debut release Zaba.
The buzz that surrounds the Oxford 4-piece has only increased since signing to Wolf Tone, the new label of 4-time Grammy-award winning producer Paul Epworth, feted for his work with the likes of Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine, Adele and Sir Paul McCartney. They recently toured in support of St Vincent, and made their first major festival appearance at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
So why the hype? Well, there aren't a lot of bands around at the moment who sound much like Glass Animals' entrancing blend of synth-driven indie and dark r'n'b, dripping with softly-spoken vocal melodies over intricately-constructed beats sewn together by frontman Dave Bayley. They're a little Alt-J, a little Wild Beasts, spinning a finely-wrought tangle of dreamy multi-instrumentalism as Zaba twists and turns between lullaby-soft, dark and seedy and jazz-tropical, defying pigeon-holes at every turn.
However you want to label them, this is undoubtedly one of those rare chances to see a band on the cusp of making it, before they make the leap to stardom that this superb debut record deserves.
Catch them at Shepherd's Bush Empire on March 10th.