He may be fronting one of the world's most exciting bands, but Dave Bayley is refreshingly down to earth. He tells Tim Hughes about his new album, playing Bestival, touring America and returning for an intimate hometown show

Glass Animals don’t act like one of the hottest bands on the planet – but they most assuredly are.

Modest, down to earth and refreshingly excited by how well things are going, it’s all too easy to forget that this bunch of Oxford lads are very hot property right now.

Their debut album, Zaba, released on Primal Scream and Adele producer Paul Epworth’s Wolf Tone label, sold half a million copies worldwide and amassed a staggering 200 million Spotify streams.

When they released their breakthrough single Gooey in 2014, it became the second most shared track on the site, worldwide, for the whole year.

Now the Jericho band are back with a new album, How to Be a Human Being, which is set to be even bigger. But while they are likely to be mobbed in the streets of New York or Sydney, the Jericho lads can wander through their hometown, and drink in their local, The Bookbinders, largely unnoticed – and certainly unbothered

Tonight, Dave Bayley, Drew MacFarlane, Edmund Irwin-Singer and Joe Seaward play the last big festival of the summer, Bestival, on the Isle of Wight, before jetting off to the States, where Dave and Drew both lived before coming to Oxford, for an 18-date North American tour, ending at Los Angeles’ famous Greek Theatre.

They then return for a series of UK shows, including a long-awaited hometown show at the O2 Academy Oxford on October 1.

The band, whose music – a soulful melange of pop, trip-hop, dance and gentle electronica – is described by Dave as “hip-hop holding a pineapple”, are guaranteed a heroes’ welcome.

A secret warm-up show at The Bullingdon in June sold out at light speed, many fans also making the trip to Wilderness festival to catch their Cornbury Park debut – which followed festival dates at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, drawing up to 10,000 people to their sets.

If any further evidence were needed that this is a band on the up, consider the following stats: along with 225,000 Facebook likes and 58,000 Instagram followers, they have 1.7 million Shazam followers. Their single Toes featured on the soundtrack to the Liam Neeson film Taken 3, and latest single Life Itself, from the new album, has 1.2 million views, was A-listed by Radio 1 and chosen by Annie Mac as her Hottest Record in the World.

Fans include Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, who booked them to headline his own Independent Venue Week night at Oxford’s Jericho Tavern.

All of which goes to prove this bunch of friends, who met at St Edward’s School, are following in the footsteps of local exports Radiohead, Supergrass, Ride and Foals, and becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.

“Things are hectic but good,” says frontman Dave, speaking outside a London hotel, as he fights to get a decent signal.

“The new album is quite different to the first one. That was quite shy as we didn’t know what we were doing. It had quite timid lyrics

“But we have been playing live every day for two years and have got to appreciate the bolder points of our music and that has influenced the mentality of this record.

“We are comfortable with what we are doing. It is rawer and bolder and we have grown to appreciate the energy of playing live.”

Dave, a razor-sharp neuro-science graduate, gathered ideas for the album while on the road, secretly recording snatches of conversation on his phone, confessing: “I try to sneakily record people and I have hours and hours of these amazing rants from taxi drivers, strange people we met outside of shows and people at parties.

“People say the strangest stuff when they don’t think they’re ever gonna see you again.”

The notes developed into fully-fledged characters in his lyrics. “I’d obsess over what they ate, where they lived, what their furniture looked like, what they wore...”

And is he pleased with the reaction? “I haven’t been paying much attention,” he says. “That’s mainly because of a lack of time, though.

“When the first record came out, we cared what people thought, but made the album for ourselves and didn’t think much of it. So having this seems a great perk, but not especially important.

“We just wanted to make a great record.”

So how did he enjoy his summer? “We didn’t do many festivals, but Wilderness was fun,” he says.

“It was different to other festivals we’ve been to and we enjoyed it. We played a relaxed Sunday set and then had a walk through the festival, which was fun with lots of people in steampunk outfits.”

He adds: “We are going to come back and do more festivals next summer.”

He rounds off the summer tonight on the first night of Bestival, joining a strong Oxford contingent at the festival, alongside shoegaze legends Ride, and reggae and ska DJs David Rodigan and Count Skylarkin’.

“We are playing the only venue which will be open, so people have no choice but to come and see us!” he laughs.

The forthcoming tour will see them back playing huge rooms, including New York’s 3,000-capacity Terminal 5. It’s all a far cry from their favourite intimate Oxford venues, such as the Jericho Tavern and the Bullingdon. “I love those little venues where you can see people’s sweat!” he laughs.

“I like going back to where it all started – the Bully and Jericho Tavern, and it’s important to do those. We can’t wait to come back and do the O2 Academy. It was the Zodiac when we were kids, and it is weird being on the same stage we saw so many of my favourite bands like the Arctic Monkeys. It’s going to be amazing.

“Those venues don’t feel small though – they feel bigger and more important. It’s tougher playing Oxford than a big stadium in America. They are meaningful gigs before a home crowd where the people are important, and we care what they think.”

And he likes the fact he can wander around town incognito. “I haven’t been recognised that much in Oxford. I go for my daily jog on Port Meadow, which is nice and always changing, and we go to the Bookbinders, which is our local.

“We have stayed grounded. It’s not a big deal. And I can still walk around in my pyjamas.”

* The band play Bestival on the Isle of Wight tonight (bestival.net) and the O2 Academy Oxford on October 21 (ticketweb.co.uk)