The 1975: Retaining their meta status, this track mirrors the opening track of the last album, the only big difference being that it features a more grand sound because of the choir singing behind lead-singer Matty Healy. My thoughts aren’t much different than they were on the last album, it’s a good starter to the album despite its short length.
Love Me: Alright, I like the funky, dance-y synth instrumentals on this track, the hook is really fun, and I’m really fascinated by the social commentary on this track: the discussion of the narcissism a celebrity faces on their rise to fame is really interesting, and I love songs that can hide something kind of dark and sinister behind an upbeat and snappy instrumental, so this song really clicks with me, for sure!
UGH!: Once again, I love how upbeat and fun this song is: it’s funky, energetic, and bright, and Matty definitely has a lot of fun on the hook with this one. And as always, there’s interesting lyrics behind these upbeat instrumentals, this time talking about Matty’s addiction to cocaine. As I said, I love when people can hide those kinds of darker stories behind punchy instrumentals, and beyond that, the song is just really fun to listen to as well!
A Change of Heart: I find it clever that the song titled “A Change of Heart” is slower than the other songs at the start. But once again, I love this song! I love Matty’s subdued vocals, the really beautiful synth instrumentals, and even if the group described this as the most “simple” song on the album (it talks about losing a girl because the love fades and you see her for how she really is), I still think the lyrics are so well-written and fascinating. This will become a replay-button breaker for me!
She’s American: A more uptempo track, this one has a really funky bass line, some really strong vocals from Matty, and I like the lyrics on this one, where Matty talks about the cultural divide between him (a male, British singer) and the band’s female, American fans. I find this to be a pretty interesting topic, and the band executes the concept wonderfully.
If I Believe You: Taking things much slower on this one, we have a more jazzy, gospel song about Matty’s faith and religion, as he ponders throughout the track if his lack of belief in God is working against him. I’m not all that crazy about the slower feel on this one, but it does sound pretty nice, the hook is pretty strong and Matty’s vocals are quite nice. Not one of my favorites on the album, but it’s still a pretty solid song that might grow on me in the future, even if I think it goes on a bit too long.
Must Be Naked: Here, we have a nearly four-and-a-half-minute instrumental song that kind of feels like a story, feeling kind of like a series of fear and different emotions during the intimate moments of a sexual encounter. I really love the very beautiful piano track on this one, it kind of reminds me of a sad song that’d you hear in a video game. And even when other instruments come in, the song is still beautiful and easy on the ears. I know it sounds weird that I’ll pick a four-and-a-half-minute instrumental song and call it a replay-button breaker, but that’s what this might be, it’s a really great song!
Lostmyhead: There are not many lyrics on this track (the same hook repeats twice), but Matty’s very filtered vocals are really strong on this one, and I like the really bright instrumentals that, again, wonderfully mask the kind of dark lyrics and subject matter on this one. Sticking with the idea of the last track reminding me of a video game, this one kind of reminds me of something you’d hear when you complete a really epic video game, and that’s what makes it so good to me.
The Ballad of Me and My Brain: Continuing with the theme of Matty exploring his mental state, I really like the punchy drum beat on this one, and Matty’s really passionate vocals are wonderful. I also like how Matty talks about losing his mind, but not being able to find it because of his celebrity status and all of the people asking him for autographs. It’s not one of my favorite tracks on this album, but it’s a good one and, again, I think it’ll grow on me in the future.
Somebody Else: I love that this song has some really sad lyrics, but is still able to provide some very punchy and energetic instrumentals. I love Matty’s vocals a lot on this one and the hook is a lot of fun. As I said at the start of this review, this song has been a huge replay-button breaker for me, and I still love it even after too many listens. Fun fact, actually, while writing the review, I had to listen to this song twice, that’s how much I love it.
Loving Someone: Immediately after that, this song talks about how a girl should be “loving someone.” I like the funky instrumental on this one and I love Matty’s flow as he half-raps the verses (with a voice that kind of reminds me of Ed Sheeran, honestly), but I’m not all that crazy about the hook. It’s kind of boring and the vocals on it are not all that strong. Still, it’s not a bad song, it might just need to grow on me.
I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it: Naming a song after this album won’t make the name any less creepy to me, just saying. Either way, continuing their trend of huge instrumental song, this song is almost six-and-a-half minutes long and only has a few lyrics, where Matt describes what seems like a previous sexual encounter. That said, I really like the bright instrumentals on this one, and even as it goes in a lot of different directions, it remains really fun and enjoyable throughout. Again, doesn’t change my thoughts on the name of the album/track, but I did enjoy myself quite a bit with this one. Would I listen to the whole thing all over again? Honestly, I might, because I did like it quite a bit.
The Sound: I like the really bright, really fun sound of this song a lot, and Matty’s vocals are really strong. The song actually kind of feels a bit old-school to me, and the hook is way too much fun! Matty spoke in interviews about how this song “wears its pop on its sleeve and it’s kind of unabashed.” All of that is true, and that’s also what makes it such a fun, extremely enjoyable, replay-button-breaking song.
This Must Be My Dream: Another song that hides some kind of dark lyrics behind an extremely bright and fun instrumental, Matty talks on this one about finding a girl that he feels is going to “rearrange his world,” only to find that he’s wrong, and everything ends up going to Hell. It’s head-noddy, it’s dance-y, it’s plenty of fun, and with a great hook and more wonderful vocals from Matty, it’s definitely got the potential to be a replay-button breaker.
Paris: The 1975 made a better song called “Paris” than The Chainsmokers did. Not shocking, but still worth noting. Once again, really bright and extremely fun, I like Matty’s vocals, and I like the old-school vibe I get from this one. Not really much of a hook on this thing, and it’s not one of my favorites on the album, but I do like it quite a bit, I feel like it might even grow on me in the future.
Nana: Switching things up quite a bit, this is an acoustic song about the death of Matty Healy’s grandmother. It might seem like a jarring shift, but it still feels like it fits with the album, as it’s still a pretty bright track overall. It’s also such an interesting track because of the way that Matty approaches death, especially as someone that isn’t religious. It’s honestly a rather heartbreaking song, especially at the end when Matty says that he “hasn’t been doing too well,” which kinda shows how, even as he puts on a brave face, he’s not taking her death that easily. And he further shows that with a really emotional performance and some very raw vocals on this track. Definitely an amazing song.
She Lays Down: Originally, I thought Nana should’ve been the closing track on this one, but then we have this track, another acoustic track that features a more broken sounding Matty Healy talking about the postnatal depression his mother felt after his birth. It’s actually a cleverly-produced track, in that it’s Matty after recording “Nana,” still in a sad, broken state singing this song, and he even appropriately ends the song with “that was it.” It’s a very raw and very sad track that’s very appropriate to end the album on, and Matty’s vocals are really strong on this one. A wonderful end to an incredible album.
Overall, The 1975’s sophomore album is even better than the first. Filled to the brim with bright, fun, dance-y songs, the band reminds us with this album that they know how to make genuinely enjoyable music. It’s an album so great, even the really long instrumentals are a lot of fun! The 1975 proves with this album that their music is fun, their lead singer Matt Healy is a wonderful vocalist, and they don’t have to rest on the sound that they brought with their old album to be successful. This album actually feels quite different from the last album, but even so, it’s a great album that’s definitely gonna get repeat listens out of me. Listening to this album makes me happy that I went back and chose to listen to The 1975’s studio albums because they are absolutely fantastic, and I’m really excited to see how they keep this going as we continue into their next album “Music for Cars” in 2018.
Still don’t like the album’s title, though. Nope.
Favorite tracks: Love Me, UGH!, A Change of Heart, She’s American, Must Be Naked, Lostmyhead, Somebody Else, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, The Sound, This Must Be My Dream, Nana, She Lays Down
Least favorite tracks: Loving Someone (if I REALLY had to pick one)
Rating: Excellent
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