The 1975 gets restless on the sprawling, unfocused Notes On A Conditional Form
Music Reviews music review
Nobody would ever accuse The 1975 of cutting corners or resting on its laurels. The British band spent time in a whopping 15 different studios during the nearly two-year genesis of Notes On A Conditional Form. Unsurprisingly, as what happens with many creative projects, the album expanded to fit this lengthy gestation. All told, the full-length clocks in at 22 songs and 80 minutes.
Of course, such an epic scope is nothing new for The 1975; after all, it’s the lyrically uber-confessional band that named its second album I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It. Grandiosity is The 1975’s preferred state—and the group generally makes its over-the-top approach work, mainly because its members are so earnest and enthusiastic about being so extra. In a recent interview with The Guardian, frontman Matty Healy rather succinctly summarized why The 1975’s albums are so widescreen: “I’ve been in the same band for 17 years. We make records and we live together. So it’s not striving to be bold; it’s avoiding being bored.”
On previous full-lengths, The 1975’s commitment to avoiding boredom gave the band a reputation as sonic dilettantes. That’s certainly not a bad thing: It’s impressive to find a band capable of pulling off glossy ’80s synth-pop and soulful piano balladry on the same album. However, Notes On A Conditional Form finds the group even more disinterested in repetition. Restless and ambitious, the album flits through twitchy electronica, Ride-caliber melodic shoegaze, ’90s alt-rock, soulful blues-pop, and incisive indie-folk.
Notes On A Conditional Form falters, however, because of its sequencing. Past 1975 albums smartly arranged their disparate songs much like a DJ might weave together an eclectic set. This time around, although individual moments stand out—“People” is a distorted blast of furious punk, “Me & You Together Song” is warm-’n’-fuzzy shoegaze, and “Yeah I Know” feels like a Radiohead B-side circa Kid A/Amnesiac—Notes On A Conditional Form is a jarring and fatiguing listening experience. Interstitial orchestral instrumentals feel like tacked-on filler rather than true segues, and the album never gains momentum: The band dips its toes into a style, and then immediately pulls back and moves on to something else.
This shallowness is frustrating, since it also extends to Notes On A Conditional Form’s lyrics. Although the album starts strong—elements of a passionate, spoken-word speech from climate change activist Greta Thunberg lead right into the galvanizing, pissed-off political statement “People”—Healy uncharacteristically dances around topics that deserve deeper thought, in the areas of gender, sexuality, and emotional vulnerability. “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America,” a duet with Phoebe Bridgers, touches on faith and forbidden love, but never delves into the motivations of the song’s characters. Elsewhere, “The Birthday Party” gets in some zingers about perceived wealth (“Drink your kombucha, buy an Ed Ruscha / Surely, it’s a print ’cause I’m not made of it”), but the song’s references to sobriety (“I depend on my friends to stay clean, as sad as it seems”) are begging for more exploration.
In fact, Notes On A Conditional Form is best on the songs when Healy jettisons big-picture statements and instead confronts anxiety about personal malaise and isolation, as on “Nothing Revealed/Nothing Denied”: “Life feels like a lie, I need something to be true / Is there anybody out there?” The album’s strongest moments hint that The 1975 are fatigued about being perceived as generational poster children, and might be much happier diving into more intimate, personal fare.
Unsurprisingly, the sonic hopscotch that once amplified the group’s singularity now feels like a liability; Notes On A Conditional Form feels less like a 1975 album than it does a hodgepodge collection of songs by a band trying on various sonic identities to see what fits. If anything, to understand and appreciate the record, don’t approach it as an album-length statement from one band, but as a personalized, diverse playlist curated by a favorite human tastemaker.
15 Comments
So you’re saying this the 1975’s “White Album”?I’m here for that. In all seriousness, Honestly this is my favorite modern band.I’ve been bumping the “Me and You together song” since release. And when so many bands fall into just repeating their sound over and over, it’s fresh how openly Healy sees them as pop band that wants to experiment.
I don’t mind them. They’re talented. Some of their songs are pretty great.But knowing when to quit is not Healy’s strong suit. Too much experimentation is not always a good thing. I think the 1975 would be better off if they weren’t so shamelessly attempting to be the next Radiohead.I am digging the album though, minus the lack of fat-trimming in certain areas.
I’m a big believer that no album needs to be over an hour, so that’s not surprising since this clocks in at an hour twenty.I’m not sure if Radiohead is the best comparison. I mean I’m not comparing quality and this might be hyperbole, but I’d compare them to the Beatles.The constant experimentation, references to culture while still making (more or less) radio friendly pop songs.Radiohead hasn’t been on my radar. But I’ve always understood that they’ve kinda skewed away from radio friendly tunes.
I thought I read somewhere that Healy was quoted as saying Notes is to Brief Inquiry what Kid A was to OK Computer. And, I feel like I’ve read lots of commentary from folks comparing the bands and their career trajectories. I am hugely biased in this (Radiohead is my favorite band). Thus, I find a lot of these comparisons ludicrous for reasons beyond just quality of the music. Again, I like these guys. But, they are very, very earnest and to a fault. I think they clearly excel in some of the genres they experiment with. Others not so much. I appreciate getting Thunberg’s voice out there, but no one is going to listen to four minutes of spoken word ruminating on environmental collapse. And to follow that up with a lame attempt to be a Refused-esque garage punk song, YAWN. The album gets significantly better from there.
I may have missed the Radiohead comparisons (since I’ve kinda missed Radiohead in general) and The Beatles are my favorite band so it’s an easier comparison for me.But I also completely agree with your second paragraph. And will add that yeh, album sequencing has kinda become a lost art in the digital era.
I like the Beatles comparison.
yeah i don’t think they’re necessary being performative with the Thunberg speech (inasmuch as that’s possible with a loudly self-aware band), but it also feels pointless on a digital album. If this was a record and you had to listen to it to get to the next track, it might serve a purpose; but when I buy the album, I’m going to delete the track because…I just want to listen to the music.
People keep saying they’re earnest – and I suppose they are, though I’m old enough to remember genuine, unbearable, galactic-level earnestness – Live’s “Lightning Crashes,” for instance. Or . . . well, pretty much anything by Live. (I mean, they called a song “The Dolphin’s Cry,” for fuck’s sake.) But Healy’s lyrical wit, and their skittering lightness of touch, sonically, undercut a lot of that for me. One or two tracks here feel like filler: “Yeah I Know” is as perfunctory as its title, and “Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)” is a B-side, at best. But Jesus Christ, the highs are very, very high indeed.(Also, note to the reviewer: “Me and You Together Song” isn’t shoegaze – it’s Madchester, à la Northside or early Charlatans. “Then Because She Goes” is the shoegaze track.)
I feel like every 1975 album ages better than when it’s first released, if that makes sense. I remember I Like It When You Sleep… being trashed when it first came out but going back that album is fantastic. A Brief Inquiry will probably always be their highpoint but even that album had some fat that could have been trimmed for sure. As far as modern arena sized pop acts go though, it’s hard to find one who put on a better show than The 1975.Also sorry to be a douchey nitpicker but Me + You Together Song is not shoegaze. It’s 90s alt. Lostmyhead is shoegaze.
Is this what white people listen to these days?
“‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’ . . . never delves into the motivations of the song’s characters.” This is what a music teacher at Greendale Community College would say to a student.
I agree that it sounds more like a collection of tracks, like a playlist, than a cohesive record. some tracks on the record sound like a completely different band. maybe it will make sense the next time I listen.
C is way too harsh. Yes, there is ALOT going on in this album and its hard to digest, since it sounds like one big personal Spotify playlist on shuffle. Every song is an attempt at a different genre, some tracks go on too long, and Healy definitely tries to tackle way too much wide ranging subject matter all at once. But it definitely isn’t boring, nor would I consider there to be alot of filler like there was on the last album. Kinda gives me Beatles White Album, Sufjan Stevens Illinois, or Bon Iver 22, A Million vibes here in how much there is to take in and how the highs make up for the “lows.” Having Phoebe Bridgers and other guest stars definitely helps keep interest going through out too. I dig it alot, and I think it may have more replay value than the A Brief Inquiry had.
this is music for people with nothing inside them. Just husks, no hopes or dreams or thoughts.
I love The 1975. I listen to “Sex” so much, it’s one of my favorite songs ever. I love that they can jump styles and still sound wonderful no matter what it is. This album though, is bloated. There are some great tracks here for sure. “Me & You Together Song” is getting up there on my favorite songs ever list. But the two times I’ve listened to it so far I have been glancing at the queue to see when it will end. A few years from now I’ll probably go through this album and cut it in half. The 11 remaining songs might make for an excellent album.