Top 13 Favorite Albums of 2013 #1 - The 1975 by The 1975
Out of all the game changing, brilliant, epic, creative, visionary music to come out of 2013, none hit me quite as hard as The 1975 and their self titled debut album. Since the album dropped September 3rd, I have listened to it at least once a day. I fell asleep to it, I woke up to it, I strutted down the street to it. I played it until it bled into my thoughts, my dreams, my nightmares. I let Matty Healy’s stirring vocals completely overtake my mind because the songs on The 1975’s record feel as intimate and as honest as my most primal emotions. This genre bending masterpiece married an atmospheric and introspective approach and aesthetic with 80’s culture for a sound that I have never encountered before but felt so natural and innate. Listening to The 1975 feels as effortless as thinking and it is surprising – almost frightening – to discover a band that becomes an extension of yourself in such a holistic way. All of this culminated when I was fortunate enough to go to their show in October – a show that I honestly do not think I have recovered from (much of that probably has something to do with meeting Matty Healy, George Daniel, and Ross MacDonald… and having Healy say he loves my hair… I’ll never get over that). I can’t quite explain it, but in the moments of singing and dancing and screaming, I felt at home. I’ve never felt more perfect and more like myself than I did as I watched those four UK natives take command of that stage. It was a night that I knew I was exactly where I had to be and for once, I went to a concert and the only thing on my mind was pure excitement. I was so ready to see the songs I cherished so deeply played live and, from start to finish, I was blown away and acting like an absolute utter mess. The intro track alone was enough to set me off. The track, titled “The 1975,” never sounded so good as it just consumed the room, washing over the entire room with haunting vocals and a slow building intro. As the night continued, I fell more and more in love with each song as every little nuance and suggestive undertone was played out live, further elevating the sheer emotional power behind every song on their debut. There was nothing like it.
Really, if I could be a band, I would be The 1975. I recognize such a strong parallel between myself and Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald, and George Daniel. They are so exposed, so honest, and so cerebral in what they express that their music just pours out of them. Yet, there is such care and ambiguity in how they present everything. You can tell just how much it means to The 1975 that they are representing themselves in the way that feels truest to them and I relate to that on such a grand scale. It permeates all I do and to find a band that understands that and allows me to find that within them is probably the highest level of understanding I’ll ever get to. Hands down, my favorite album –favorite band – to come out of 2013. Maybe even my favorite album and band period.
Favorite songs:
…All of them…