A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships – The 1975 – Track By Track
Alas as we journey down the final stretch of 2018 we have The 1975s third studio album, ‘A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships’ to soundtrack the way in spectacular fashion.
This new record explores themes far different from their 2013 self-titled debut, being what one could call the “anti-indie rock album” , the polar opposite of which The 1975 once became known for. This proves to be a further expansion of the sweet bubble-gum pop first developed from their last release, I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it but in a more mature and therefore enjoyable sounding manner.
The themes on this record explore and travel deeply into modernist issues such as present-day politics and just what a shame it is to be human! These fascinating ideas aren’t just developed within the lyrics but carried through the impressively vast degree of experimentation in familiar The 1975 genre-hopping style with the varying production techniques being a highlight of the album!
The now familiar self-titled first song ‘The 1975’ remains in it’s traditional position, serving as a reinvention of the opening track used on their previous studio albums. The staunch robotic instrumental used gives an insight to what the album has to offer, illustrating the continued persistence of modern technology; a reoccurring theme throughout the record.
‘Give Yourself a Try’ brings flamboyant screechy guitar in a clear homage to fellow Manchester legends Joy Division alongside the vibrant use of auto tune which makes the track almost as unbearable as it is charmingly catchy. Lead-songwriter Matty Healy delves into the troubling situation of growing old and how one must try to get the best out of it. Everyone grows up but not everyone grows into their full potential or to see their greatest inner abilities come to the fore. Healy preaches to his youthful audience that as you age be willing to learn and try new things, life is too short to be enclosed and yet stay true to who you are.
The happiest and irritatingly poppiest song of the album, ‘Tootimetootimetootime’ carries a similarly brash approach to the recurring robotic pop. It delivers the story of an unfaithful relationship during the digital age we find ourselves submerged within. This song is the catchiest from the album down to it’s consistent head bopping beat and funky tone accompanied by hook filled lyrics.
The instrumental ‘How To Draw / Petrichor’ is a song I must admit wasn’t something I was very keen on when I first listened to the album. Yet the build up to a glitchy dance track is actually fairly cool, it still isn’t my favourite but I must rate it as it was executed really well by the band.
Strangely following from this very monotone interlude is another pop song, the social anthem, ‘Love It If We Made It’. I absolutely adore the message that this song conveys as it puts pressure on us as a society to listen and understand what our everyday normal is and how horrendous it can be. Yet it does conceive an element of hope, as there is a plea for some higher being to save us and also the chorus is perceiving that it would be good if we got past all our issues and got on with everything.
It’s followed by the profoundly beautiful, ‘Be My Mistake’. The acoustic guitar is not something The 1975 use a lot within their music, however they’re not shy of it. Here it’s so soft and tenderly compliments the lyrics, as does the twinkling keyboard gently used in the background. The softness of this song makes the pushes the emotion to prominence and allows the listener to feel and understand most of the lyrics. This song will touch a lot of the more youthful fans in particular as it deals with guilt of mistakes when made at a younger age and how it can really affect a person as they grow and realise what they’ve done.
It’s quickly followed by a sharp lift in mood via ‘Sincerity Is Scary’ . The synthesisers and piano at the beginning of the song conjure up connotations of a seventies jazz ballad. It’s entirely different from anything The 1975 have done before with its shift in direction cementing it as a stand out track on the record.
‘I Like America & America Likes Me’ is perhaps the album’s most political track as with Matty Healy making a direct plea for politicians to wake up and listen as he believes guns aren’t required to live a good life. He doesn’t want this new generation of kids to grow up with guns, it’s time to make a change.
An interlude I actually really like is, ‘The Man Who Married A Robot / Love Theme’ as it’s different to anything I have ever listened to on an album, as it tells the specific story of one man in the voice of Siri and how he was so consumed with this iPhone, it gives out the message that each one of our own Siri’s probably have a story on us about how obsessed we are with internet and social media and how we have just dug ourselves a hole we wont get out as its now what we rely on to lead a happy life, everyone is addicted.
The pop-rock ballad, ‘Inside Your Mind’ is an absolutely beautiful melody, the lyrics however toys with the idea of wanting to know what something else is thinking and the only way to find out is to open their head and see. This metaphor is morbidly romantic, I quite like it as at first listen it just is a beautiful song yet as you delve deeper it becomes this crazy metaphor.
To lift the mood from the previous track next up is ‘Its Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’. This is yet another funky track due to its catchy rhythm and lyrics, however this completely juxtaposes with what the song is actually about, similar to ‘UGH!’ from the previous record… a groovy tune masking a more serious meaning. This song is about Matty Healy’s battle with heroin addiction, as he told Billboard ‘I don’t have things that I want to write about that aren’t exactly what I feel day by day. The problem I have now is that this is my truth, and I feel like I can’t negotiate properly with the world if I can’t tell the truth.’
‘Surrounded By Heads And Bodies’ further tells Healy’s struggle with heroin addiction, this time it’s set in a rehab centre and tells the story of a girl called Angela that he met whilst he was there. Although the lyrics describe how they hardly spoke to one another, it shows the desperate need for human contact produced from the isolation at rehab and how he felt a strong connection with her despite the lack of words.
As the album heads for an end it sticks with the theme of sadness, however these tracks are the most beautiful, such as ‘Mind’. This song was inspired by jazz artist, John Coltrane and it’s evident the band really enjoy his work with the track’s backing of prominently soft trumpet and piano which is intertwined so nicely with the lyrics.
‘It’s not a love song’ says Matty Healy when talking about the therefore ironically titled ‘I couldn’t be more in Love’, it’s about the fans and how he fears one day that no one will care for the band anymore, yet he does have great appreciation for the people that support them. The vocals on this track are extremely intense, and with this comes great emotion, it was recorded the day before Healy went to rehab and he says that because of this the sense of fear and sadness is conveyed even further. He was going to re-record this once he came out before wisely deciding to stick with the original take as it makes the song more personal and adds a lot more substance. The strong guitar solo and key change just makes the song one of The 1975’s best. It’s just so slick, with everything perfectly executed, it couldn’t be done any better.
The final track ‘I always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’ is a very cinematic track as it sounds like something that would be use at the end of a film in a montage sequence, I feel like this is what the band wanted to convey with this as it’s a track that sums up the online age of 2018. Carrying heavy Britpop connotations and nodding it’s head to classics like ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ by The Verve, with the crescendo of all the music coming together with the guitar, drums and vocals all coming together in time with and loudly complementing one and other. It’s just another incredible track by the band.
‘A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships’ is definitely The 1975’s best album to date. Through experimenting with and hopping between many genres and musical techniques The 1975 really make a record unlike anything currently present in the music industry. Even more key, it’s perhaps finally music to turn even their strongest critics around on them!
