Recent Obsessions: The 1975
UPDATE (10/8/2016 7:41 PM): Replaced broken links.
I spend a lot of time in my room, headphones on, getting lost in a record. I’ll find a new band, listen to the music, and put it on repeat over and over again, just trying to wrap my head around it. The 1975 was no different at the start. I put the songs on, played them over and over, looking for that “bang” moment where it all just makes sense. However, it’s never that simple for the really truly great bands. For the really great bands, it’s like meeting a singular being, a living entity. So with The 1975, it isn’t just the music I had to understand. It was the videos, the songs, the album artwork, the everything. All tied together in one perfect package.
I don’t think I truly got them until I watched their music video for the single “Chocolate.” Listening to this song first without seeing the video, I pictured a kind of upbeat and typically indie video in my head filled with colored smoke bombs and stupid looking flower crowns (no offense, but flower crowns aren’t my thing). Watching the video though, you see this overwhelming sense of intimacy and sensuality from the setting to the cinematography to the camera angles. All of that just elevates this single from being a really good song to a really great song. It draws attention to the basic emotions behind the song’s lyrics, which is what I think any music video should strive to do, and leaves the song’s meaning right there in your face.
The 1975 is the kind of band that I imagine each individual listener takes away something profoundly different from the experience of hearing their songs and watching their videos. Their music ranges from upbeat to somber, but above all of that is an overwhelming sense of introspection. Each song invites you as the listener to look inside not just yourself, but your environment, your relationships because each song feels like a look inside the band members themselves. In each song, I feel like I’m inside lead singer Matt Healy’s head and am watching him in real time having an experience because the lyrics have a kind of stream of consciousness feeling to them. Healy sings the way most people think, picking up small random details that all combine to form some sort of understanding of the situation presented. Instrumentally, the slow and muted synths, prevalent drum beats and patterns, along with the reverberation and the various layers of different sounds all just take you out of your environment and isolate you from everything but what’s going on in your head. In tandem with the lyrics, The 1975 creates songs that feel extremely personal for the band and for the listener.
The songs, the videos, the album art, the lyrical content – it all just works together in such a classic and thoughtful manner, and honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around how they can be so polished and put together in their entire style and aesthetic. The 1975 has this whole black and white aesthetic that they gravitate towards, and it appeals to my inner minimalist and love affair with the past, I guess. More than that though, I think the style of their videos just makes sense with their music and creates a beautiful overall package. The 1975 are a really special band to see out in the music scene because they are so in tune with everything that they are. It’s impressive and I think there’s an excitement around them that is infectious. As it is, they’re a UK band with a sizable US presence already and their debut album, The 1975, hasn’t even been released yet. I know tons of people are anxiously waiting for the September 2nd release and I’m certainly one of them. It’ll probably be one of the few albums I actually buy this year rather than stream on Spotify.
Personal favorites: