Have The 1975 lost their ‘magic’ touch?

★★☆☆☆

When writing critically about an album from a band whose previous offerings you’ve enjoyed quite a bit — and have even had their faces plastered on your wall at one point — you’re bound to feel some sort of affliction to be dishonest and please as many people as possible. After all, The 1975’s fans are a scary bunch.

There’s a possibility an angry mob of Matty Healy worshippers could strike at any time, but that’s the risk I’m willing to take for journalistic integrity.

Before I delve into Notes On A Conditional Form, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what I’ve heard so far. Mostly, what I have heard is that there are “quite a few filler songs” and that the standout songs are simply the singles already released. This is often the case; it takes a skilled musician to make a completely flawless album from beginning to end and I can’t say I’ve seen it done often.

Matty Healy is well-known for being controversial with his notoriously potty mouth and has a strange need to come across as ‘relatable’ to his fans ten years his junior. Some might go as far as to say that he is our answer to a twenty-first century Morrissey (if anybody was actually asking for that in the first place).

Particularly, over the past year he has found himself in hot water, not only for his insensitive tweet about how bands should stop asking for support during a pandemic as we’re ‘going to die’ (he’s worth an estimated $15 million, so you can assume he has enough money not to ask for support himself) but for capitalising on the death of George Floyd and promoting his own song under a tweet of so-called ‘support’ for Black Lives Matter.

While The 1975’s previous album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships had some noteworthy, memorable songs on it, for me the highlights were their more timid, slower songs such as Be My Mistake, Inside Your Mind and the formidable I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes). For me, I didn’t enjoy The Man Who Married A Robot / Love Theme as it felt like they were doing a poor man’s Fitter Happier.

Before I even start to play the album, I noticed that it’s twenty-two songs deep compared to the previous sixteen, seventeen and fifteen-song albums. There are bound to be plenty of fillers in an album that could easily be split into two segments.

As usual, the album starts with The 1975, an intro to the album ahead if you will. This is incredibly different to the previous intro songs as this one features Greta Thunberg and her fight to stop climate change. While I wouldn’t usually choose to listen to her talk over and over again, I think adding this to the start of the album was a clever choice; helping to bring light to the current climate of the world and use their platform for good (for a change).

Next up is the duly loved People, which rightfully stunned many people as it drove away from their usual pop sound. I’m a fan of this song, having previously heard it, and I think it shows that The 1975 doesn’t just spew relatable songs about narcotics and girls. It’s nice to see the group doing something different for once, with a song reminiscent of early punk. I like how this song doesn’t even sound like a The 1975 song and, if you listened to this without the knowledge it was them, I don’t think you would be able to pinpoint that it was them behind it.

The next song off the album is The End (Music For Cars) — a song which, in my opinion, starts off sounding like something Coldplay might dare to release. Once it reveals itself to be simply instrumental, that’s all it is; it’s clearly a filler, I’ve heard so many better instrumentals that it’s hard to think this is anything extraordinary or something that’s never been done before.

What follows is Frail State Of Mind, which comes with a fast pace and some endearing lyrics with Healy asking “what’s the vibe?” halfway through and earning a laugh from me. I don’t hate this but it’s something I can picture playing in clubs — I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I guess in theory that’s more often a good thing, but I’m not sure that’s the case when you’re making a self-proclaimed ‘experimental’ album.

The next track is Streaming, a surprisingly melodic and ethereal-sounding song. Granted, it’s another instrumental but it finds its place in the album, giving you one minute of tranquility amid the upbeat songs.

I’ve heard rave reviews about the next one, so I’m hoping for something just as spectacular to live up to my expectations. First off, I didn’t even notice the transition into The Birthday Party as it was so incredibly smooth. For some reason, the vocals remind me of Miley Cyrus when she was playing Hannah Montana — I think it’s that Western twang that comes and goes. Personally, as hyped up as this song was, it completely misses the spot for me. It tried to be something it wasn’t and, in doing that, it fell flat.

Next is Yeah I Know and straight away I’m not a fan. I get that The 1975 are evolving and experimenting but this song just sounds generic and boring to me. This electronic dance sound that they try and master is not my cup of tea at all, I think they’re much better at doing the slower, meaningful songs than songs you’d expect to see a DJ blasting at some dodgy house party in the early hours of the morning.

Then Because She Goes is a completely different sound to the previous song and at first, I’m quite a fan until they start trying to cram too much into one song and then I’m no longer sure if it sits right with me. It’s a short song, though, so it’s quite easily digestible and I think I’d like it more if I kept listening to it.

The next one is Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America, which I have also previously heard. First of all, was the song title necessary or was Matty Healy trying to appeal to all of the e-girls and e-boys that worship him? On the contrary, I do actually really like this song; it’s everything ‘Playing On My Mind’ was trying to be and much more. While I’ve heard that some people didn’t enjoy the addition of Phoebe Bridgers on the track, I think it adds a surprising element that The 1975 haven’t ever really had. Her vocals complement Matty’s almost perfectly and so far they’re a highlight of the album.

The tenth song is Roadkill and it reminds me of something that sounds like it could’ve been off the first album. What isn’t right, however, is Matty Healy (a straight, white man) using the F slur. There’s literally no excuse that he could say that would make it okay to use in a song. The fact that he isn’t being held as accountable as he should be is a whole other problem in itself. Is it going to be spoken about and then buried? Probably. Did he think it would be quirky and cool to say what he’d been called when numerous of people in the LGBTQ+ community are hounded with slurs in their day-to-day life? Again, probably.

Swiftly moving on from that outrage, the next song that follows after that is Me & You Together Song. In my opinion, this is an almost perfect song. The lyrics are incredible, it gives Wolf Alice’s Don’t Delete The Kisses a run for its money but the latter is worth its weight in gold. I can’t count how many times I’ve listened to this song so far but I’ve had it on repeat a lot. It’s catchy, that’s no doubt, but it’s also rhythmic and captivating. While it does sound like The 1975, it’s something a bit different and opposes their previously released Somebody Else perfectly.

The next song, I Think There’s Something You Should Know, is a chill yet upbeat song. Something The 1975 aren’t shy to release. This particular track is reminiscent of Years & Years’ first album due to the electronica vibe to the song. It’s unmistakably a song by The 1975, but I feel like I’ve heard songs like this before and it’s not that exciting for me to hear the same song chewed up and spat back out.

Next up is Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied. This song has a choir behind it and that gives it that extra oomph, then it evolves into something that sounds a bit like Easy Life. When somebody else starts rapping, that’s where it takes an interesting turn. I think this song would’ve actually been enjoyable and one of my favourites if they didn’t add the rapping; it just feels completely different from the rest of the song and somewhat unnecessary, adding nothing but a touch of humour.

The next song, Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy), starts off sounding a bit like a Kanye West experiment until Matty’s vocals come in; then it develops into that notorious sound that’s reminiscent of their third album. The song isn’t bad, it just seems a bit unnecessary in my opinion. It’s chill but I’m not sure if it’s something I could find myself getting into.

The next track is Shiny Collarbone, another song I have seen mentioned here and there about being… interesting, per se. I’m not sure what they’re trying to achieve with this song but it just sounds like something you’d hear playing in a dingy club on a Friday night to a crowd of people too drunk to care about the music that’s being played. Was it really necessary to add this song? I get they want to ‘experiment’, but this only makes them more laughable.

The next song on the LP is If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know), which is highly regarded as the people’s favourite from the album. I’ve already listened to this but, if I’m being honest, I’ve completely forgotten how it sounds. All I know is that KSI is a fan so that says enough for me really. It takes a while for me to get into it but once it hits the chorus I understand the hype, it’s catchy but is it worth Healy having ‘godlike’ status? If this song has anything to say about the rest of the album, I have a feeling a lot of these songs are going to sound like they could’ve been on their previous two releases.

After that, comes Playing On My Mind, a typical The 1975 song; lyrically and instrumentally through and through. It’s one of their notoriously sweet and slower songs, something I think they executed near perfectly on their last album that isn’t as well strung on this one so far.

Having No Head is the next one, which starts off sounding a lot like it belongs on their second album. Unfortunately, it reveals itself to be another instrumental and, while I have no qualms against instrumentals, it seems as if they’re just filling in gaps with songs at the last minute that aren’t at all very extraordinary.

Next up is What Should I Say, a song that sounds like a generic Top 40 dance song and isn’t anything spectacular or unheard of. While this isn’t necessarily bad, it isn’t revolutionarily and they aren’t doing something new or exciting like they’ve become known for. Sure, they’re evolving, but I feel like I’ve heard this song before and it is just another regurgitated song.

Bagsy Not In Net starts off interestingly, leaving me wondering if it’ll be more of the same from previously. With the continuity of Matty’s distinctive voice on this track, it’s different from before but it’s nothing special. It’s another disappointing filler and I won’t remember it tomorrow.

Don’t Worry is the next track on the album, coincidentally titled as if a message for the current state of the world. In my opinion, this is nothing but a filler and I don’t think the keyboard complements the overall sound of the song. The message behind this song is nice, yes, but it just sounds like a song from a noughties boy band like Blue, a tad corny and cringe (I’ve got nothing against Blue, btw).

Lastly, the finishing track is Guys, another song I’ve heard is supposedly one of the “best”. It’s an ode to the “lads”; a platonic love song for your mates. Honestly, this song is a harmonious, intoxicating and passionate way to end the album and there’s no other song that suited this spot more. I probably wouldn’t listen to it again, but it’s not that bad.

Overall, I wasn’t a massive fan of this album, if that wasn’t already evident. I’ve found with previous The 1975 albums that they’ve had a couple of songs I couldn’t really get into, but with this album there happened to be quite a few of those. The highlights for me were definitely Me & You Together Song, Frail State of Mind and People. I now understand why people said the album was full of fillers, every other song seemed to be a last-ditch attempt at something fantastic and experimental but misses the mark ever so slightly. Maybe stick to what you’re good at, Matty.

Notes On A Conditional Form is out now via Dirty Hit.