Go Down, Soft Sound

So, I've done a few of these big posts now, and I thought it was time to do another one. About Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel. The 1975.

This is How It Starts- Early Days and Debut Album

The 1975 formed in Wilmslow Cheshire in 2002 and consists of 4 members, Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), George Daniel (drums and producer) and Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar and the bands primary songwriter. With the bands name being derived from the Jack Kerouac book 'On the Road' with a page of scribbles, dated "1 June, The 1975"

All of the band members met each other at school, first performing as teenagers. Healy originally playing drums in Hann and MacDonalds' band. When the singer dropped out, Healy filled in lead vocals whilst continuing to play drums. This role was eventually relinquished to Daniel and the bands line up was complete. Healy has since said that meeting Daniel was a life changing event. The band now as a quartet would play covers of both punk and emo songs, at both school and Healy's home before eventually starting to write their own music.

Healy's parents Tim Healy and Denise Welch were in the public eye, being on TV and within the world of celebrity, so they were both supportive of the band. Even to this day. Denise, Matty's mum recently posted this on her Instagram. 

To keep the band members together, Hann, MacDonald, and Daniel all moved to Manchester to attend university. Healy also briefly attended music school in the city. All four of them also worked together at a local Chinese restaurant, spending the money they had earned on recording and playing gigs. The four of them were inseparable, desperately wanting this to work.

By 2010, the band was being managed by Jamie Oborne but remained unsigned due to their genre-hopping approach, so he set up his own independent record label–Dirty Hit–and signed the band for 20 pounds. Now they had a band and a label. Things really were taking of now.

A debut album was in the works but before that the band would release four EP's, the first of which being 'Facedown' which would also give the band their first airplay on UK National Radio. 'The City' was played on BBC Radio 1. Zane Lowe would champion the lead single from the bands next EP and the band would begin a UK and Ireland Tour into early 2013. before heading to the US in spring 2014. 

The band would tour heavily to build hype for the release of their debut album, supporting Muse at the Emirates Stadium in London, they also toured with the Neighborhood in the United States in June 2013, and supported the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park on 13 July. 

Hype was building around the band, these EP's and touring had proved fruitful. Following the re releaase of 'Sex' which had premiered on Radio 1 and a music video being premiered on YouTube. The band would release their self titled debut album on 2nd September 2013. It debuted at Number One in the UK albums chart.

As an album it received mixed reviews, with some thinking that the band were over hyped and some being unsure where the band fitted in the modern musical landscape. It is a very experimental album and see's the band explore a variety of genres. The album has been described as electropop, emo, indie pop, pop, pop punk and pop rock. It also includes funk and indie rock elements.

Frontman Matty Healy described the style as "pretty experimental, and goes from glitchy R&B to big 80s powerpop to mid 90s soul, but it's done in our way obviously.

It is a great pop record, and contains some of the bands most well loved songs, from the rock stomp of 'The City' to the punk emo classic 'Sex' and indie gem 'Heart Out'. It's a debut record with 16 songs that manages to grab a listeners attention. Very big bombastic, very 80s. A really ambitious record from a very ambitious band, and yet it is about simple things, growing up, relationships, drinking, drugs.  Both cool and tragic. It's a record that acts as the opening chapter, to a story. A story of one of this centuries most important bands.

Love Me- I Like It When You Sleep

Following touring the debut album, which saw the band play at Coachella in 2014, and headline the Royal Albert Hall in that same year. The band were scheduled to record in the summer of 2015.

On June 1, 2015, the band's social media accounts underwent termination, sparking widespread speculation. A day before, a comic strip had been shared on Healy's Twitter but was subsequently reposted on their manager Jamie Oborne's account, implying a potential breakup. The following day, the accounts were restored, but with altered cover images and profile photos in white and light pink, deviating from the usual black and white, ultimately revealing it to be a orchestrated publicity stunt.

In October of the same year the band announced their second album. ' I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It.' as well as premiering a lead single 'Love Me' a tour was then scheduled which would see the band tour, Europe, North America and Asia.

The band would work, with Mike Crossely who had worked on the bands debut, but 'Love Me ' would set a different trend for the band. Moving away from the bands emo sound, and embracing pop. If the debut record had nods to the 80s this single embraced the decade wholeheartedly. This trend would follow for the rest of the record. The production intricately weaves together guitars and synthesizers, complemented by a 1980s-style saxophone, cowbells, and a guitar solo. Healy employs an experimental singing style, incorporating articulation techniques like staccato. The lyrics serve as both a celebration and critique of narcissism, ego, and fame, functioning as a commentary on contemporary society's preoccupation with celebrity culture.

'UGH' and 'The Sound' followed as singles. The former is almost R&B like in sound and lyrically sees Matty Healy discuss his cocaine addiction, with both his desire to quit but also continue conflicting with each other. Tackling come downs, and drug fueled social interactions. As well the R&B and disco influences, bands and artists like INXS and Peter Gabriel have been said to influence the song. 'The Sound' sees the band create a house, pop, indie disco master piece. Healy first offered the song to One Direction, who declined and the band decided to record it. 

"The Sound" contains a maximalist four on the floor production inspired by music of the 1980s. It features a disco house piano, syncopated synthesisers, synthesised strings and an electric guitar solo, and incorporates aspects of new wave, funk, and R&B, among other genres. The band were now really embracing pop music. 

Before the album was released 'Somebody Else' and 'A Change of Heart' would be released, two slower songs that tackle relationships and breakups. 'Somebody Else' marked the final addition to the album, with Healy crafting its lyrics in the back of a cab during his time in Los Angeles. The song delves into the aftermath of a breakup, centering on the emotions of jealousy and guilt.

'A Change of Heart' sees the band tackle the falling out of love and detail the end of a romance, focusing on the theme of technology.

The album would receive acclaim from fans and critics alike. Even from publications who had previously been critical of the band. NME, who had previously been highly critical of the band, also praised the album for its scope and ambition, writing, "Any record that burrows as deep into your psyche as 'I Like It...' should be considered essential. It's hugely clever and wryly funny, to.

Like the bands debut it is quite a long album, with 17 tracks on it, yet it doesn't drag or feel bloated. It also contains some of the bands best work, both in the form of the seven singles but also with the album tracks. 'Paris' 'Nana' 'This Must be My Dream' and 'The Ballad of Me and My Brain' are all on this album. It is an eclectic collection of brilliant songs, that tackle, relationships, addictions, being famous, grief, the emergence of technology, social media That nods to Bowie, INXS, Tears for Fears, Peter Gabriel, Donna Summer, Fleetwood Mac. Its a collection of brilliant songs and brutal observations, that are blunt yet beautiful. Take the way he tackles his problem.

Rock stars have a tendency to depict their drug problems in hysterically grandiose terms – “what tongueless ghost of sin crept through my curtains?” as Noel Gallagher put it – but Healy is more mundane and realistic: “You look shit and you smell a bit.”

For many this is the bands best work, and it's easy to see why.

The band toured the album beginning in Liverpool on the 9th of November before touring the rest of the UK and United States in that same year. Asia and Oceania in January 2016, Europe in March to April 2016, and the US from April to May 2016. They played nine festivals over the summer of 2016, including Firefly Music Festival in June and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August. The band concluded the tour headlining Latitude Festival in Henham Park, United Kingdom on 14 July 2017, stating that it was "the end an of an era, but the start of a new era, called 'Music for Cars'

Music for Cars- A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships.

The bands third album was initially delayed, as Matty Healy left for a drug rehabilitation clinic in Barbados, seeking treatment for his heroin addiction. Fans first knew about the bands new music through an Instagram post.  On 13 November 2016, member George Daniel teased the band's third album by releasing a video on his Instagram account captioned "2018", containing snippets of audio along with Healy playing the keyboards.

In late April 2018, enigmatic posters under the title "Music for Cars" emerged in London and Manchester. These posters featured taglines and a Dirty Hit catalogue number, DH00327, against a black background. Notably, they strategically utilized détournement, superimposing themselves over existing advertisements on various billboards across the United Kingdom. Simultaneously, the band revamped their website with a countdown timer set to expire on June 1, 2018, and reactivated their social media presence. In the initial hours, it was unveiled that the website harbored a concealed zip file containing four distinct posters. Each poster led to a hidden web page showcasing a conversation between a 'human' and a 'machine.' The band continued to unveil numerous posters, all bearing the title "A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships."

The albums first single 'Give Yourself a Try' was released on the 31st May 2018. Inspired by the works of Joy Division, especially the song 'Disorder' which Healy said stemmed from both acts originating from Macclesfield. He wrote the song using a mix of autobiographical and fictional elements, wanting to capture the health and social anxiety experienced by millennials.

It has gone on to become one of the bands most well loved songs, and is often used to end their live shows. "Give Yourself a Try" revolves around an aggressive pop-punk guitar riff reminiscent of "Disorder". The former's production consists of post-punk guitars, a robotic synth hook, a motorik-leaning beat and influences of Britpop, synth-pop, pop, pop-punk and garage punk. Thematically, it deals with maturing and escaping the trappings of fame, with Healy calling for people to recognize their self-worth and become a part of the world

A real leap from the previous effort, which saw the band embrace 80s synth pop. This song is much darker, the drug references more course, the self deprecation and sarcasm, much more present. For a first single, it was quite the start. 

Following it up would always prove difficult. How did they do it, well.. with this.

'Love It If We Made It' was inspired by Prince, and was originally going  to be written around daily tabloid headlines from 2016 to 2018, that had been collected by Healy. They became too humorous, so he rewrote the song to summarize the volatile social and political events in that period.

A mid tempo rock ballad, that contains, disco riffs and staccato cords, that deals with he flaws of contemporary society, highlighting the prevalence of hypocrisy and disinformation. The lyrics touch upon various incidents, including the US national anthem protests, the tragic death of Alan Kurdi, the passing of Lil Peep, and the release of the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape, among other events. Healy presents the track in a stream of consciousness fashion, employing a blend of shouting, screaming, and rapping to convey its intensity and message. 

It's almost a modern day 'We Didn't start the Fire' that see's a man convey his frustration at the world. 

This was more than a pop song it was, arguably the most important thing they had ever done. Further singles followed, in the form of 'TooTimeTooTimeTooTime', 'Sincerity Is Scary' and 'It's Not Living if it's Not With You' each of them exploring a different side of the band. "TooTimeTooTimeTooTime" is an electropop and synth-pop song that revolves around a four-on-the-floor tropical house beat. An experimental neo soul, R&B and neo jazz ballad, "Sincerity Is Scary" is built upon a hip hop beat. A gospel-influenced pop, synth-rock and power pop song, "It's Not Living (If It's Not with You)" is evocative of the music of the 1980s. The song's production comprises jangly funk guitars, an electric guitar, sparkling synths and influences of teen pop, Britpop, indie pop, country-pop, hair metal and synth-pop.

As an album the band aimed to create the most important album if the decade, hoping to achieve the same impact as Radiohead's OK Computer (1997) and the Smiths' The Queen Is Dead (1986).

I think it's safe to say that they did.  A musically experimental album, that combines rock and pop elements.  A concept album, that explores digital communication and the internet's role in contemporary life, it makes the normal also seem dystopian. Describing both the power of technology but also how we interact with technology. Healy compared the album to an essay meant to inform the listener without opinion or judgement.

It's an alum that focuses on the millennial experience in the information age, serving as a cautionary political statement about modern society and contemporary existence. Highlighting the experiences faced by that generation and how the expanding nature of the internet has affected that experience. Touching on Modern Politics, and Matty's maturation as a song writer. 

Musically it some of the bands very best work, from the Joy Division indebted opening track, through to the bubblegum electronica of 'TooTimeTooTimeTooTime' the weirdness of 'The Man Who Married a Robot' a song sung by SIRI, through to the albums final track 'I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)' which sounds like Oasis, and The Verve meet Radiohead. The bombastic 80s sound didn't go away 'It's Not Living (If It's Not with You)'  is a pop synth-rock and power pop track that draws parallels between heartbreak and addiction

A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships has frequently been referred to as a millennial version of OK Computer, with numerous critics drawing comparisons between the two records, it saw the critics who were quick to write the band of, do a u turn. No longer could they over look The 1975, especially after writing a master piece as good as this. 

The album was shortlisted for the 2019 Mercury Music Prize and won the award for British Album of the Year at the 2019 Brit Awards

The band headlined both Radio 1's Big Weekend in Stewart Park, Middlesbrough on 26 May 2019 and Reading and Leeds Festival in August 2019. A Brief Inquiry had allowed the band to progress to headlining much larger festivals, and reinforced them as one of Britain's most important bands.

To tour the album, the band went on the 'Music for Cars' tour. The 24-month long world tour began on 29 November 2018 in England. However, the tour prematurely ended on 3 March 2020 in the wake of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, the tour was scheduled to conclude on 10 July 2021 in London, England. The tour was supported with the following opening acts and special guests No Rome, Pale Waves, The Japanese House and Beabadoobee.

Music for Cars 2- Notes on a Conditional Form 

Although the third 1975 album was going to be called ‘Music for Cars’ the band opted to call it ‘A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships’. Music for Cars instead became the next era of the band. Which was a two album cycle. ‘A Brief Inquiry’ and ‘Notes on A Conditional Form’ 

Released in 2020, it picked up where its predecessor had left off two years previously. 

Before the album was released fhs band released seven singles. Which saw them embrace a variety of sounds and genres. ‘People’ sees the band at their heaviest yet, a two-and-a-half-minute attack. Of pulsating drums and screamo vocals. It's The 1975 do punk. Another song that sees the band try and come to terms with the state of the world. 

‘Me & You Together Song’ is a more traditional indie pop tune, and for many arguably the band's first serious love song. Done in a very 1975 way. With some very funny lyrics. It has drawn comparisons with Blink 182 and Hanson, and I can see why. It has that late 90s early 00s feel. 

‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’ and ‘The Birthday Party’ are much slower acoustic affairs. It seems the band really stripped things back. A sound we had not heard too much before. Another string to their bow. 

‘If You're To Shy Let Me Know’ is one the album's most loved songs, and features FKA Twigs on backing vocals. A song about online relationships and the emergence of cybersex and love. It sees the band embrace 80s sounds again, with Duran Duran and Tears for Fears being cited as influences. Away from music, many say that John Hughes and his coming-of-age 80s films have influenced both this song and the band's other work. 

The final single ‘Guys’ is one of my favourite songs by the band. A love song written by Matty that declares his undying love for his bandmates. Talking about the journey they've been on to get to this point. It's one of the album's most emotive songs, a moment of real clarity and emotion shown by the band.

As an album it continues the exploration into new genres. The opening song, ‘The 1975’ the same song that opens every album by the band is different for the first time. It is a speech by climate activist Greta Thunberg. ‘Bagsy Not in Net’ is a garage song. Unlike anything we have ever heard from the band before.

‘Don’t Worry’ is a duet with Matty and his dad Tim. With both of them singing on a song Tim wrote in the 90s. With Matty saying this was the first song he ever knew. A real full-circle moment for the band.

An all encompassing record that captures a band at their very best. It's also a record where Matty Healy takes a sledgehammer to his ego.

The walls have come down and we see many sides to the frontman and the band. It's a piece of historical music that brings the second act of the band to an end.

Part of the Band-Being Funny in A Foreign Language.

After the tour for Notes was cut short, the band retreated for a little while. Working on other things, including collaborations with Charli XCX and Beabadoobe. 

Fans were expecting a follow up. However many were unsure where the band could go after the sprawling epics of ‘A Brief Inquiry’ and ‘Notes’.

Where they went was something I don't think anyone could quite expect.

First single ‘Part of the Band’ is a mid paced folk song, with some of Healy’s most sincere yet hilarious lyrics. Especially in its verses he's addressing his flaws, and bringing them to the forefront of his songwriting. Acting more like a journal than a pop song. ‘Happiness’ is another nod to the 80s and it's a pop banger. With a danceable beat, and one of the best chrouses the band have ever written. Think Hall & Oates, meets Springsteen. 

This album also contains ‘I’m in Love With You’ an acoustic-led love song where feelings are laid bare. A man who had written ‘Sincerity is Scary’ was proclaiming his love for us two years later. For some it was a backwards step but ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language’ is a band and a songwriter removing the creative shackles.

It's a collection of some brilliant songs, that flows into a rather short 45 minute record. With some of the band best worked cramed in. The LCD Soundsytem indebted ‘The 1975’ that acts as a status update of where the band are, and portrays the world they find themselves in. 

‘Wintering’ tackles a family Christmas in a beautiful way, with Matty being self-deprecating and wholesome at the same time. ‘About You’ is musically similar to ‘Robbers’ from the band's debut record. A grandiose epic that has become a live favourite. Layered with saxophone and strings to create a wall of sound. 

It's a collection of well crafted pop songs. Influenced by those great 80s legends. Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon. Yet it's firmly a 1975 record they do not create imitations, they make their own masterpieces. 

To promote the release of this album the band headed out on tour. ‘The 1975 At Their Very Best’ and completely changed the way bands do arena shows. 

Running from November 2022 to August 2023. It saw the band play across the world in huge venues.The show was written and directed by frontman Healy. The set, modeled after the interior of a suburban home, was designed by the band's frequent collaborator Tobias Rylander, and is adorned with antique furniture, bedside lamps, and old televisions embedded with LED screens to display concert visuals. On one end of the stage is a large spiral staircase, while the other end is covered by a roof atop which Healy performs the song "I Like America and America Likes Me". At the center of the stage is a large door frame that evokes the rectangle symbol present across the cover art for the band's early discography. The set is also surrounded by windowsills through which more stage lights are projected, as well as a large streetlamp that hangs over the roof of the house. 

The show is split into two parts: the first half (The 1975 Presents: Being Funny in a Foreign Language) was characterized by The Observeras "part performance art, part stage play, part Charlie Kaufman movie about a rock star in crisis," and the second half (At Their Very Best) as a traditional concert that incorporates more of the band's past discography

As far as set designs go, it is one of the best I have ever seen, and the way the show flows makes for a really interesting and intriguing live experience. Unlike any other gig I've ever been to. 

As a live show it embraces the new record with the stuff the band have done in the past. Flowing perfectly into each song. Away from the new stuff when you have anthems like ‘Robbers’ ‘Sex’ ‘The Sound’ and ‘Give Yourself a Try’ in your arsenal. It's always going to be a good show.

It propelled The 1975 to more and more people and allowed them to play to their biggest crowds yet. Including shows at Maddison Square Garden which the band would record and turn into a live album. As well as a huge show at London’s Finsbury Park. Originally planned for 2020.

The tour proved to be so successful that the band continued to tour. With the ‘Still at Their Very Best’ shows, following on directly from the last run of shows. Playing multiple shows at some of the world's biggest venues. Including 4 nights at London’s O2 Arena. 

These shows feature a slightly revised setlist and stage arrangement. Including a B-Stage where emerges for the show's middle act (titled "Matty's Nightmare"), where he caresses and lays next to a naked wax replica of himself. The replica is then lowered beneath the stage and replaced with a guitar and microphone for Healy to perform an acoustic rendition of the track "Be My Mistake" from the band's third album. Healy returns to the main stage afterwards to perform the rest of the set, but reemerges on the B-stage during the encore to perform "People", and is sometimes joined by other members of the band.

The show continues the odd theme, from the ‘At Their Very Best dates, but has continued to receive acclaim from fans and critics a like. The 1975 want to do something different than other arena shows, and good on them. 

Legacy

Now I know The 1975 and Matty Healy are Marmite figures. You either love or loathe them. However, I also know opinions change. The NME called them ‘the worst band in the world’ in 2014 and then ‘Band of the Decade’ in 2020.

Whatever you think, you cannot deny they've made an impact on modern music and have gone on to be one of the most important musical voices. 

A band not afraid to look forward but also to look back. They are a band commenting on the world around them, from the emergence and power of the internet and social media, political movements, eco-crisis, suicide, addiction, love, lust, grief and a whole lot more. 

They put their all into the music they make and their live shows, five albums in. It could be argued they're Britain's most important modern band. 

Always at the forefront of modern music and popular culture. Yes, not always for the right reasons. But they're a band of brothers, four friends who took on the world and made music on their terms. Pitchfork described the band as “ a band of friends" who "ascended from scrappy emo rockers to global superstars"

Now sitting on top of the perch as one of the world's best bands. The 1975 were right.

Right now they are ‘Still At Their Very Best’

Thank you for reading x