It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Matty Healy and company, otherwise known as British alt-rock group The 1975. Chances are, you still have their chart-topping hit “Chocolate” stuck in your head, even if it was dropped all the way back in 2013. However, The 1975 has moved on from their sugary past to bring their second LP, "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it" on Feb. 26.
ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI, other than being quite a mouthful to rattle off when you’re, say, writing an album review, is a fresh mix of synth-pop heavily influenced by the 1980s. While the LP has a crystal clear stamp of The 1975 written all over it, it’s not a stretch to imagine the same tunes being sung by the late David Bowie.
As a whole, the album takes its listeners back to a time when pop music was unabashed. It’s rich, shameless and, at times, a bit self-indulgent, like the truly great artists from one of history’s most revered decades. Overall, it’s an incredible album that completely deserves the one hour and 14 minutes that it takes to listen to it in full. However, some tracks are a cut above the rest. Starting with…
5. “The Ballad of Me and My Brain” - Track 9
Despite being one of the shorter songs amongst the collection at only 2:51, “The Ballad of Me and My Brain” packs a powerful message about mental health and being in the public eye. Healy describes “looking for his brain” around various locations while being badgered by someone who wants his autograph; it tells the story of how he’s expected to always perform for the public eye even when he’s lost his mind—literally or figuratively.
Best lyric: “It can't have gone far; I must have left it on a train or lost in a bar. It’s likely in a Sainsbury’s, flirting with the girls that waited for me.”
4. “Paris” – Track 15
“Paris” is by far one of the smoothest tracks on ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI. While it still incorporates that synthetic pop feel that sets this album apart from past work by The 1975, it’s the most familiar sounding of the songs. It’s an excellent bridge from their self-titled album to this one, despite not showing up until the end of the tracklist. It’s a classic song that makes even the heaviest of its lyrics sound light as air.
Best lyric: “She had to leave because she couldn't hack it; not enough noise and too much racket.”
3. “Love Me” – Track 2
It’s rare to see the first single of an album with an almost completely new sound do so well, but The 1975 hit the nail on the head when they dropped this track. It’s a playful look at the narcissism behind being famous and the band’s complete rejection of the superficiality of their situation as pop stars. Healy himself was quoted saying, “The way I address [our fans] is by giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming that they’re in on the joke. I’m making an observation on the glaringly obvious superficial elements that surround my life and the culture that I feed into.”
Best lyric: "‘You look famous, let's be friends, and portray we possess something important and do the things we'd like.’"
2. “A Change of Heart” – Track 4
One of the biggest grievances that critics have with music made by The 1975 is that it is often too self-aware; songs like “Love Me” suggest that the artists will never take themselves seriously. However, “A Change of Heart” blows that criticism out of the water. It’s a simple song, one of the only “true ballads” on the album, but it’s an introspective look at what it’s like to fall out of love with someone.
Best lyric: “You used to have a face straight out of a magazine, now you just look like anyone; I just had a change of heart.”
1. “If I Believe You” – Track 6
I can easily say that I’m confident this is one of the most poetic songs I will hear in 2016. It’s a poignant look at Healy’s relationship with religion, atheism and personal strife. The narrator of the song is crying for help from a higher power while backed by a gospel choir. Biblical imagery used in contrast to the narrator’s struggle portray an overall message of confusion and desperation in relation to faith, which is something that isn’t often touched upon in pop music. If you listen to no other track on this album, you have to listen to this one.
Best lyric: “I'll be your child if you insist; I mean if it was you that made my body, you probably shouldn't have made me atheist.”
To purchase "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it" on iTunes, click here.
