I feel as though every year or so a new band hits my ears that forces a sharp reflection and virtually recalibrates my tastes. It’s that band that defines the year for me. That band that I look back on as the crack that splintered my tastes and musical habits into a spider-web of new directions. I think of artists like Blink 182, The Format, Brand New, Thrice, The Gaslight Anthem, Bon Iver, and P.O.S. Bands that have become pillars of my musical collection and ones I would point to as defining my “taste matrix.” These bonds have lasted for years and each listen to their catalog transports me back in time. These are the bands that I take possession of and metaphorically hang my hat on. That I say: “this is the band that defines this part of me; this is the band that I believe in.”
In 2013, that band is The 1975.
It’s not one thing that has led me to this place, it’s the culmination that has made up everything that is this band. It’s their sound that feels ripped from a John Hughes movie and then mixed with soulful R&B. It’s the aesthetic and care that goes into each song and video that helps to create a feeling of purpose and environment. It’s the undeniable passion that comes across in interviews and live performances.
So, what do I think about the new self-titled album?
I flat out love it and after having spent a few weeks with it, I’m fairly certain it’s going to be up there with my favorite albums of the year.
How would I describe it?
It’s very much a pop album. As the band has said in interviews, they wrote this album first — and then built their EPs around the singles. So while the album itself does contain a few moments of the slower tempo and atmospheric material, the foundation of the album is very much, by intent, a pop album.
But it’s a pop album where you can tell the creators were listening to a lot of Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper, and Whitney Houston when creating it. And the influence doesn’t come across as contrived knock offs, it comes across as it should: as influence.
What are the stand-out tracks?
”Heart Out” is a smash hit that has already become my song of the summer. The verses are pure pop perfection. “Settle Down” and “She Way Out” are fantastic. “Robbers” and “Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You?” are emotion filled gems.
Let downs?
”Talk” is just alright and “Girls” is probably my least favorite — it just gets a little too repetitive for me. The only other “complaint” I have is not really a complaint at all — but having heard the EPs so many times, leading the album with a bunch of songs I’ve already played, tends to get me antsy for the tracks I haven’t heard as much. But, given that this is a debut album, and there’s already quite a few different versions of most of the songs on the album — that’s not really a fair complaint against the band, or album.
In Conclusion?
Love it. While I was worried that my initial impressions were going to wear off after a few weeks — I’ve found that the opposite actually happened: I want to listen to it even more. That’s a pretty damn good sign.