What a name. What a record. What a band.
Starting off with a new recording of an instrumental piece which had already found a place on their debut record, you get the same vibe off of it at first.
But, at latest, if you haven’t followed the band’s recent song releases, once 'Love
Me' sets in, it’s more than clear that this is utterly different. With a
perfectly chosen vibe of Bowie’s Fame, The 1975 take on society's obsession with celebrities and
their standards these days, especially considering social media and the
included fake PR friendships people love to show off on platforms such as
Instagram. Healy’s openly mocking it just as much as himself though.
Also previously released was the following track ‘UGH!’ in which Healy
confronts his own addictive personality and experiences with, specifically,
cocaine. What could be taken as a very upbeat and, another, very 80s vibe song,
proves itself to be far more interpretive than most music around these days.
The subject itself makes you expect a dark setting, but Healy manages perfectly
to bring it across in a more than intelligent and bittersweet way. While ‘Change
of Heart’ has remained unreleased on the regular platforms, it did receive a
play or two on BBC’s Radio1, as well as the band having presented their fans
with it during their US / UK tour run back in November / December. Already at this
point, it’s more than clear that the further you indulge into this record, the
more bizarre it gets and the harder it gets to sort it into a certain genre.
With ‘you used to have a face straight out a magazine’, one of many, what
Healy loves to call, ‘Easter Eggs’ (such as in video games) reveals itself as a
picked up lyric line from their debut record (specifically here, their song 'Robbers'). These can be found all over the album and give most a whole new meaning
if you go back to rediscover its roots. In ‘She’s American’ Healy opens up
about his problem to connect with the ‘American way of life’ as of recently,
taking a piss at the things that have gotten thrown at him by, as indicated, girlfriends
as much as critics. ‘If I Believe You’ tones the vibe down even more but
excites with a gospel choir perfectly worked into it. With a title such as ‘Please
Be Naked’, more present saxophones are to be expected and a lust-drenched creation. But it is
quite the opposite with very few, very calming piano notes, staggering up with
sounds of nature before ending in plain piano noises again. Slightly distorted
guitar riffs introduce ‘LostMyHead’ before Healy silently starts singing a very
reoccurring motif of the whole record about his own state of mind. The repeated
‘can you feel it?’ slowly but surely makes you feel as if you were floating if
you close your eyes and concentrate on the individual instrumental parts of the
song before it elevates you to an even higher level with the more
rock-influenced sounds towards the end of it. Another distorted start, with
different voices this time, the ‘Ballad of Me and my Brain’ starts, sounding rather
easy at first. But as soon as Healy’s raspy vocals kick in, pleading, ‘I think
I’ve gone mad, isn’t it so sad?’, and with it, further approaching the subject
of his mental health and the struggles of sudden fame. Considering the fact
that he taped his vocals in one single take gives it an even more outstanding aura
than it already has. It lasts for almost three minutes, but the intensity of it
all makes it fly by in no time. An instant second listen is inevitable.
Continuing with a personal favorite, we dive back into the groove-y sounds of ‘Somebody Else’ in which Healy shows his own fear of commitment as he cannot fully engage in such due to being in the position that he is (‘I can’t give you my soul cause we’re never alone’). With ‘I took all my things that make sounds, the rest I can do without’ he declares his undeniable dependence on and love for the band and music as a whole. A whole new turn takes ‘Loving Someone’ with a row of high-pitched yells paired with odd guitar pinches before a verse kicks off in which Healy raps, more than anything, his way through the song, criticizing today’s pressures of society. In an, what seems like an interlude worked into the song, Healy recites a piece called ‘Orange’ he had previously published on Instagram quite some time ago. Finally, the title track of the record comes along revealing itself to be another instrumental track with an immense length of six and a half minutes. Phrases are scattered across the song. Uttered. Whispered. A childish aura surrounding it for the most part, before it turns into something completely different as robotic sounds emerge, but simmering down again in the end. ‘The Sound’ is another one of the more upbeat pieces of it. It’s filled with Healy’s utterly unique way with words, especially in phrases such as ‘sycophantic prophetic socratic junkie wannabe’. Obviously, his style of writing is deeply injected in all of his creations, but sometimes it just shines more in specific moments (such as ‘Karcrashian panache’ in ‘Love Me’, absolute gold). At the beginning of ‘This Must Be My Dream’ it seems as if it has a happier turn, but it quickly becomes clear that the newly discovered relationship was just another mistake. The subject matter for ‘Paris’ stretches from other messed up people Healy meets along his way back over to his own imperfections and struggles. Undermined by the instrumental contribution, it all drowns in melancholy. In the acoustic track that is ‘Nana’ Healy deals with the death of his grandma, which is already enough of a tearjerker, but it gets even more intense with the following ‘She Lays Down’. In this, Healy speaks about his mother’s post-natal depression, sounding more close than ever as it is solely him and his acoustic guitar. Having started out with the joyful motivation of ‘Love Me’ and to end with the heaviness of ‘She Lays Down’ perfectly mirrors the weirdness and variety of sounds of this record. It’s nowhere to be placed. It’s bizarre. Each member presenting their talent in the best imaginable way, creating their very own sound. It’s exactly what The 1975 are and want to be: oddly glorious.
What a name. What a record. What a band.
Continuing with a personal favorite, we dive back into the groove-y sounds of ‘Somebody Else’ in which Healy shows his own fear of commitment as he cannot fully engage in such due to being in the position that he is (‘I can’t give you my soul cause we’re never alone’). With ‘I took all my things that make sounds, the rest I can do without’ he declares his undeniable dependence on and love for the band and music as a whole. A whole new turn takes ‘Loving Someone’ with a row of high-pitched yells paired with odd guitar pinches before a verse kicks off in which Healy raps, more than anything, his way through the song, criticizing today’s pressures of society. In an, what seems like an interlude worked into the song, Healy recites a piece called ‘Orange’ he had previously published on Instagram quite some time ago. Finally, the title track of the record comes along revealing itself to be another instrumental track with an immense length of six and a half minutes. Phrases are scattered across the song. Uttered. Whispered. A childish aura surrounding it for the most part, before it turns into something completely different as robotic sounds emerge, but simmering down again in the end. ‘The Sound’ is another one of the more upbeat pieces of it. It’s filled with Healy’s utterly unique way with words, especially in phrases such as ‘sycophantic prophetic socratic junkie wannabe’. Obviously, his style of writing is deeply injected in all of his creations, but sometimes it just shines more in specific moments (such as ‘Karcrashian panache’ in ‘Love Me’, absolute gold). At the beginning of ‘This Must Be My Dream’ it seems as if it has a happier turn, but it quickly becomes clear that the newly discovered relationship was just another mistake. The subject matter for ‘Paris’ stretches from other messed up people Healy meets along his way back over to his own imperfections and struggles. Undermined by the instrumental contribution, it all drowns in melancholy. In the acoustic track that is ‘Nana’ Healy deals with the death of his grandma, which is already enough of a tearjerker, but it gets even more intense with the following ‘She Lays Down’. In this, Healy speaks about his mother’s post-natal depression, sounding more close than ever as it is solely him and his acoustic guitar. Having started out with the joyful motivation of ‘Love Me’ and to end with the heaviness of ‘She Lays Down’ perfectly mirrors the weirdness and variety of sounds of this record. It’s nowhere to be placed. It’s bizarre. Each member presenting their talent in the best imaginable way, creating their very own sound. It’s exactly what The 1975 are and want to be: oddly glorious.
What a name. What a record. What a band.
Favorite songs: UGH!, Somebody Else
Overall: 9/10
Cheerio xx
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