The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form Review

The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form Review

Manchester quartet release genre-defying fourth album as they begin to say goodbye to another chapter of their career

In November 2018, The 1975 kicked off the Music For Cars era with the release of groundbreaking third album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. And now after a near two year period of touring, they are wrapping this part of the band's career with new record Notes On A Conditional Form.

This album takes the experimentation that the Manchester quartet has always been known for, and expands on that tenfold. This comes through the most on tracks like reggae dancehall track Shiny Collarbone, which features an appearance from a mainstay in that genre, Cutty Ranks. That's not where the collaborations end either, as there's a whole host of guests on this album. Perhaps the most prominent being Phoebe Bridgers, who features on tracks like Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America and Playing On My Mind.

During the buildup to the release of this album, frontman Matty Healy described it as being inspired by British nighttime culture which definitely comes through on songs like Yeah I Know and What Should I Say, with the former having a continuous refrain of 'Hit that shit, go hit that shit' which is accompanied by an instrumental that's very reminiscent of 2000s house music. 

It's on tracks like Yeah I Know that drummer George Daniel's production skills really shine through, as him and Healy have self-produced their two most recent records. A great example of this is on the track Having No Head, a six minute long instrumental which probably wouldn't feel too out of place on a record by British electronic musician Burial.

While the album does have a lot of moments that are surefire to be crowd-movers, it also has a few introspective moments where you get a brief glimpse into Healy's mind. An example of this would be the track Playing On My Mind which features Matty softly singing lyrics like 'Will I live and die in a band?' and 'The whole thing has been playing on my mind' that demonstrates a rare deconstruction of the lead singer's ego and bravado. The are are plenty more moments like this where Healy deconstructs the ego and swagger he's become known for. On the track, Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied, Matty sings 'I never fucked in a car, I was lying' as a callback to 2018 single Love It If We Made It.

There are many more references to past tracks in this album, which proves it to be the definitive 1975 record. On Pinegrove-inspired track Roadkill, there's a throwback to the debut album with the lyrics 'If you don't eat you'll never grow' and 'If you don't shoot you'll never know' which references the song Robbers. Also, on the track I Think There's Something You Should Know, there's a reference to 2016 breakthrough single Somebody Else 'I'm feeling like "someone", like "somebody else".

The record also has moments of 80's inspired sugary-pop songs, perhaps most prominent on single If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) which features FKA Twigs performing vocals that make you feel you're in a dream state before the catchy guitar riff kicks in  and we're treated to a song that wouldn't feel too out of place on the band's second record I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it. This trend is also somewhat prominent on Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) which was co-written with fellow Dirty Hit labelmate No Rome. It features a catchy saxophone riff which has become synonymous with The 1975 over the past decade.

This record may also be the band's most culturally important as it makes some very interesting comments on what life is like in the year 2020. In Playing On My Mind, Healy sings 'Let's find something to watch then watch our phones for half the time' and on lead single People, he near-screams the lyrics 'I don't like going outside so bring me everything here' which seems weirdly relevant right now, especially as this album is being released in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The album also features an appearance from climate change activist Greta Thunberg in the trademark 'The 1975' intro in a change away from the lyrics they've used for the past three albums. All these things together prove that The 1975 are one of the most culturally significant bands of the 2010s and indeed for many years to come.

The album ends with two particularly heartfelt moments, Healy's father Tim Healy appears on penultimate track Don't Worry to duet with his son on a piano-laden ballad which he wrote when Matty was younger. Album closer Guys finishes off the record with an ode to the people he shares a band with, in a fitting ride into the sunset for the Music For Cars era.

This album proves to be quite an interesting move for the band to make and it makes me and I'm sure many other fans excited for what will come next when the Music For Cars era comes to a close.

Score: 5 stars