If you’ve talked to me in the past two months, I will have mentioned the 1975 at least once. Maybe not by name (if we happened to spend a short amount of time together), but I will have made at least one hidden reference to them. Since the release of their sophomore album "I Like It When You Sleep for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It" on February 26th, I have become delightfully obsessed with this band. And since last week I finally attended one of their concerts, I can safely say you should become obsessed with them too.
After releasing four EPs, their first and self-titled album brought the band to the public eye with hits like "Chocolate," "Sex," "Girls," and "The City." This album contained a selection of songs they had written over 10 years, since the boys met and started the band at 14 years old while still in high school. Yes, they are four high school best friends who dedicated their life to music and, eventually, made it -- sounds like something out of a movie, right? It’s only appropriate that they call their debut album a soundtrack to a John Hughes movie about their lives.
All songs are written exclusively by Matty Healy, the band’s frontman, vocalist, and one of its guitarists, and produced by George Daniel, the band’s drummer. Adam Hann, who plays guitar, and Ross Macdonald, the bassist, compose the other half of the Manchester-born band. (From left to right in the GIF: Ross, Matty, George, Adam.)
In my previous article about them, I touched upon th
Not being afraid to subvert the constraints which the music industry puts on its artists nowadays, or to mock the industry and pop music itself, gives the 1975 the autonomy to conduct their band, image, and career the way they feel is the best representation of who they are. And because of their awareness of this autonomy, the care with which they address every single aspect of their band is striking. Let's start with their aesthetic, which is arguably as important and intrinsic to the identity of the 1975 as their music. For their first few years in the spotlight, and alongside their debut album, the band adopted a black and white and minimalist policy: The album cover was black with a white neon rectangle and the band’s name in the center (pictured below), most of their videos were in black and white, their live shows had only one rectangle as their backdrop, and their social media profiles were black and white too.
A drastic move involving all band members deleting their social media profiles led to the announcement of their new phase and aesthetic: pink. Now, their videos and social media profiles are in color, their album is the same as before but with a white background and soft pink neon (see on the left), and their shows involve a display of colorful lights like I’ve never seen before. Even the band’s song lyrics for their new album, which are being released on social media, now have a particular look to them. Not to mention their promotional social media posts where every letter is capitalized and written with a space between them, and they sign off every post with “/ / L O V E.” They have been, slowly and discretely, creating a very three-dimensional aesthetic persona that will always be connected to their music.Their music videos and live shows are also completely thought out and meticulously planned. Matty says that, when writing music videos, he just translates the idea of the song onto paper and works with the director to make sure his idea is well represented. Not being afraid to act, the 1975’s arguably most well-known music videos are "Robbers" and "A Change of Heart," both directed by Tim Mattia, and star Healy himself. Never one to undermine his fans, Healy deliberately included references to "Robbers" in "A Change of Heart," despite the videos depicting very different ideas of romance. The videos for "Love Me" and "Girls," however, are Healy’s take on the world he now belongs to, mocking the music industry and fame, and the idea of being a pop band, respectively.
The 1975’s live show, however, is a spectacle of its own. With a set and lighting designed by Tobias Rylander in collaboration with Healy, I assure you you’ll see every color imaginable projected on those screens, taking you from a city skyline to a foggy television screen. Waiting for the next light color and effects during the show is almost as exciting as waiting for the next song to be performed.
Now on to their music, which is what they ultimately produce and are known for. The 1975 have the ability of cultivating such a diverse range of sounds, ranging from guitar-based "Sex" to instrumentals like "Please Be Naked" and pop anthems like "The Sound." All lyrics are extremely honest, like a look into Healy’s mind, and seem to be a collection of different themes which surround his life, like atheism and religion in "If I Believe You" and "Antichrist," drugs in "UGH!," mental health in "The Ballad of Me and My Brain," different facets of romance in "A Change of Heart," "Somebody Else," and "fallingforyou," and his own family in "She Lays Down" and "Nana." His ability as a lyricist comes from the fact that, despite his songs talking about moments which are very specific to his own life and narrative, everyone will find something to relate to. And the vulnerability and trust he hands you when singing about such matters make you care about what you’re listening to -- it’s the kind of honesty that cannot be faked. That, coupled with Daniel’s talent as a producer and their characteristic shift between genres make the 1975 a band everyone should listen to at least once in their lives. You may not like them, but at least admire the seriousness with which these musicians approach their art.
When I left their concert with my dad (who had never heard of the band before) I was curious to know what he had thought about them. It turns out I did not even have to ask: as soon as the applause was over, he started comparing Healy to Jagger, saying he was now a fan of the band, and thanking me for introducing him to them. “It wasn’t boring or tiring at any moment either,” he added, impressed, considering they played for one hour and a half with very short breaks. When I revealed they’ll be going to my hometown in Brazil in September, my father instantly looked pleased and said “Well, I’m going to see their show there too” -- may I add that he knows no one except for myself who is a fan of the 1975. So there you go; if my almost 60-year-old father can like them, you can too. Thank me later.
