Contradictory
to their very core, are The 1975 a
boyband, or subversive prog-pop interlopers?
On I Like It When You Sleep, For
You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It (a brilliant album title or a
horrifically pretentious one? – my answer depends on my mood), they suggest
that they’re both and neither at the same time.
There are tracks like the none-more-mainstream dancehall filler of ‘The
Sound’ on the same album as the Sigur Rós
sounding post-rock of ‘Please be Naked’.
What is this? In 2016 they both supported One Direction, and released ‘URH!’, one of the most honest songs about
cocaine abuse I’ve ever heard. Indeed, ‘URH!’
is the best individual track released by anyone in 2016 (track of the year, bar
none). Having an American wife, ‘She’s
American’ is also a favourite for me lyrically.
I Like It When You Sleep…
contains some of the most intelligent and artistic pop I’ve heard in ages (spread
across a whopping 17 tracks) – the closest comparison I can think of (sadly, aptly
for 2016) is Prince. Veering from guilty pleasure to massively misunderstood
pop geniuses (again, depending on my mood), ultimately, The 1975 are, quite simply, The
1975. Beloved by 12 year old girls
and mid-30s law professors alike.
sample track: URH!