THE FRONT ROW

It’s been a long time coming, but the wait is over, Glass Caves are back, and they’ve never sounded more ready to take on the world. Back To Earth, their first full-length album in years, is a shimmering, spiritual, and arena-ready return to form that proves just how far the Yorkshire-born duo have travelled, without ever forgetting where they came from.

A decade ago, Matt Hallas and Elliott Fletcher were busking on Manchester’s Market Street. Now they’re releasing their biggest, boldest record yet through the very label they met that day: Scruff of the Neck. It’s full circle, and it feels important. This isn’t just another indie comeback, it’s a reawakening.

Opening track In Style sets the tone with raw honesty and euphoric lift. What began as a laptop demo recorded in darkness has transformed into a sun-drenched anthem of hope, mental health survival, and a heaven-tinged vision of peace. It’s brave and beautiful, sounding like The War on Drugs if they’d grown up in Yorkshire churches rather than Americana highways.

Otherside keeps the introspection flowing, built on hypnotic beats and looped synths that feel like watching the night sky while questioning the universe. The Jesus name-drop and lyrical nods to life, death, and the human condition sit comfortably next to ambient guitar textures and a floaty, M83-style sheen. This is music for the soul, not just the Spotify algorithm.

But just when you think Back To Earth is all slow-burn philosophy, in jumps Yes You Can. A banger. Gritty and optimistic, this one’s built to move. Joe Cross adds the polish, but it’s Matt’s mantra,“you say not but yes you can”, that makes it an earworm. Expect this one to soundtrack underdog montages from now until eternity.

Single I Know You Know might be the album’s biggest moment. Gospel vocals, huge production, and a spiritual epiphany fuelled by fever dreams? Sign us up. Glass Caves don’t shy away from the divine here. Instead, they embrace it head-on, making the track feel like a megachurch housed inside the Night & Day Café.

Bad Weather flips the script again. An emotional time capsule from the turbulence of a struggling marriage, the track is raw and restless, but never loses sight of love’s enduring power. Its explosive chorus owes a debt to Klaxons, but the storytelling is uniquely theirs, painful, personal, and undeniably powerful.

As we pass the halfway mark, the mood shifts. Try It All blends disco-pop with existential panic, perfect for anyone stuck in the 9-to-5 hustle, dreaming of sun but chained to deadlines. Meanwhile, Save Me delivers a stripped-back gut punch, all warped vocals and spiritual SOS. Short, sharp, unforgettable.

Then comes Millionaire, a swaggering slap at status-chasers and the myth of success. There’s a sneer in the lyrics and bite in the instrumentation, calling out capitalism’s glittery trap with indie rock venom. It’s the closest thing Glass Caves have to a protest song, and it lands like a punch.

Social media gets the spotlight on Better Life, a lush, layered track that peels back the glossy filter of online perfection. “I don’t need to show my better side,” Hallas sings, and in doing so, exposes the loneliness hiding behind every likes-count. It’s a refreshing slice of digital honesty that hits home hard.

Just when you think they’ve run out of emotional cards to play, Making Waves arrives to lift everything. With glistening synths and lyrics dedicated to life’s unsung heroes, it’s a teary-eyed high-five to the people who keep us afloat. Think Coldplay if they swapped the stadiums for hugs, and you’re close.

The album closes with Pleased To Meet You, a funky, feel-good celebration of connection, birth, and love in its most overwhelming form. Whether it’s your kid, your soulmate, or your long-lost best mate, this one hits the joy button hard. There’s even a whisper of The Weeknd in its groove, because why the hell not?

In a musical landscape stuffed with posturing and playlist-chasing, Back To Earth is the real deal. It’s rooted in belief, faith in music, in people, in redemption, and that unwavering authenticity shines through every single track. This isn’t the sound of a band clinging to the past. It’s the sound of Glass Caves arriving, again, with something to say.

FFO: The War on Drugs, Coldplay, The 1975, U2
Standout Tracks: I Know You Know, Otherside, Yes You Can, Millionaire, Bad Weather
Gig tip: Catch them live this May, these songs were made for sweaty, spiritual singalongs.