The 1975 Have Blown All My Expectations Out of the Water With 'Notes On A Conditional Form'

Oh man, this thing delivered. This thing delivered so much more than I ever could have expected as somebody that’s never been head over heels for any of The 1975’s previous records. They’ve all had magnificent high points don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never heard an album from these guys that was anything more than entirely inconsistent. This time though, they’ve finally done it. I was mind blown by the fact that we got 7 singles in a row that I enjoyed, which already set this up to be the most consistent release the band had ever put out. If you’re aware that there were 8 singles put out you’re probably wondering which I disliked, which would be the self-titled intro track. I’ll get into why I think the only real issue with this album is the bloat added on by numerous lengthy interludes, but until then I just want to continue praising everything this record gets right. All of the songs here that are actual songs are easily the most thoroughly incredible songs the band has ever put out, which is saying a lot as tracks like How to Draw / Petrichor and If I Believe You are amazing cuts. Both have been dethroned from my favorites list though, as this truly is the album I’ve been waiting for from The 1975. They’ve finally struck gold and given us a record that stands out from the pack with almost every single song - and I never thought they’d get there.

Right when I heard what I would call the true lead single People I could tell that Matt Healy and crew had no intention of playing it safe with this release. I have been so hyped for this album ever since, which is a complete 180 considering only a little over a year ago hearing their name left me pretty disinterested. Everything about my former pessimism towards these guys has transformed into overflowing optimism though, as this is one of the most interesting and replayable records I’ve heard so far this year. There are so many different musical flavors that are all orchestrated in such a cohesive and effective way on this thing. They take so many different styles and drench them all in the same lush, vibrant and organic sound that made the album has a whole resonate with me emotionally from start to finish. Gone are the days where they branch out into different genres in a way that leaves their albums feeling disjointed and unfinished. This time around, they’ve truly perfected the art of genre hopping by honing in on what exactly makes their sound special and applying those unifying elements so much more successfully than in the past. They’ve implemented their signature musical personality traits into Post-Punk, Indietronica, Folk, Future Garage, Art Pop and plenty of other influences with ease. Never once does this album feel mismatched or incoherent despite never putting two tracks that sound the same next to each other. This is what The 1975 was always supposed to be, and it’s glorious.

Another thing that hit me on this album like no other of theirs was the emotional potence that hooked me in ways I never saw coming. No song in their discography has ever effected me the way that the gorgeous Me & You Together Song did, which is admittedly just due to the way that I can relate to the lyrics in my personal life. The band has long since been criticized for sounding pretentious in their lyrics, with Matt Healy being the target of criticism from people that were particularly frustrated with some of their thematic content. As some guy named Jonny Long wrote in an article I randomly stumbled across last year, The 1975 used to be “music for people who cry after having sex”. So many of their lyrics just failed to convey the emotions they were attempting to, and furthermore songs like The Man Who Married the Robot always just made me laugh at how hilariously stupid they were. This time though, they have done a complete 180. People immediately demonstrates this shift with the cutting and impactful observations Healy makes about the global crisis of saturated materialism we are all currently feeding every day. The melancholic introspectiveness of songs like Frail State of Mind tackle mental health in such a fantastic way, with the song offering an apology for Matt’s involuntary mental struggles. It’s such a cool way of phrasing something that most people who struggle with those demons often experience. Songs like the aforementioned Me & You Together Song and Then Because She Goes express such gorgeously honest takes on relationships and loving someone unconditionally that personally hit home for me. These two are the crown jewels of the poetry within this record for me, as they fully represent the way that Matt Healy has clearly evolved past his lyrical voice of old. These songs are so honest, putting others completely behind oneself in order to achieve something greater than the sum of all the people involved. I could go on and on for hours about how the lyrics on this album are just such a drastic improvement, but instead I’d just suggest diving into that aspect of the album for yourself.

As for the music, everything is just as smooth as it’s ever been with these guys. The production on this album is so blissfully serene that I just can’t help but lose myself in everything it has to offer me as a listener. Whether I’m absorbed by the sugary Pop nirvana of Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) or left in awe by the way the Shoegaze influence on Guys compliments it’s poetic sentiments I’m consistently blown away here. There isn’t a moment on this entire record that doesn’t sound like a pillow for your ears, constantly gracing the listener with gorgeous strokes of mixing genius. It’s perfectionism in the best way, leaving absolutely nothing in the wake of editing flaws but not oversaturating a single second with overbearing elements added in post. This album strikes the balance between minimalist and overproduced in a way that so few albums I’ve heard ever have. It is by far the most well put together and mixed 1975 album they’ve ever put out. That’s saying a lot, as despite all the criticisms I have for their older stuff I would never deny that they’re one of the slickest sounding mainstream artists of the last decade. They’ve perfected a sound that’s so saccharine and sentimental without detracting from it’s realism grounded in hardship, and I just can't get enough.

The band does so much for the sake of variety on this album that it often feels risky, yet there is never a time where they don’t feel perfectly capable. There are so many different musical ideas on this thing that all conform back to the same unique traits the band applies to every single track. There are underlying elements of Shoegaze and Hypnagogic Pop throughout so much of the record that always give it this meditative feeling that always gets me relaxed and ready to absorb each note. The shimmering and glistening synths of songs like If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) accentuate this perfectly by building soundscapes with such rich atmosphere that I feel like I’m transported to a different world. Even when the record is stripped back to it’s most minimalistic state on songs like Don’t Worry, Playing On My Mind and the folksy The Birthday Party it retains those qualities. They bend and stretch that underlying atmosphere in ways that accompanies a much more soulful blend of ideas on these tracks. They can mesh together songs as beautiful and intimate as these right next to much more upbeat songs with ease because of this. For the first time in their discography, The 1975 sounds like they are trying new things as a means of expanding upon their core identity instead of doing so in a desperate attempt to find it. This is the most eclectic album they’ve ever put out, but it’s also their most grounded. They have finally found themselves. They have finally figured out exactly what it means to sound like The 1975. They aren’t equal parts Coldplay, Radiohead and a ton of other random artists anymore. They are distinctly The 1975 on this album and nobody else, which allows them to freely explore so many ideas without ever sounding out of place for an instant.

The only thing stopping me from outright considering this as my album of the year so far is the sheer length. As happy as I am that The 1975 finally have a pinpoint identity locked down, their flaws as a group will always have a place within that identity. These guys are unbelievably ambitious, too ambitious for their own good. I don’t think they will ever put out an album where that ambition doesn’t hurt them in some way, at least just a little bit. They’ve given us an album that’s an hour and a 33 minutes, which is 3 minutes longer than the requirement for a full length film. At least 15 minutes of that is made up of interludes and dead space, stuff that could have been much more effective if it was condensed into its most important parts and added onto the beginnings and ends of other songs. These transitionary pieces, most notably the trifecta of the intro, The End (Music for Cars) and Streaming that break up every other song, just don’t feel particularly necessary. I suppose the Greta Thunberg thing sets the tone for the album pretty well, but if her voice lines were peppered throughout the album as a thematic recurrence it’d be much better. Doing so would shave some much needed time off, as well as likely make the impact of her speech much more effective as the record could continuously call back to it instead of tacking it into the beginning. This sentiment applies to all the moments on the album that just didn’t need to take up as much time as they do, as there is just no reason for most any album to be this long. This is by no means a challenging listen that struggles to be digestible as every song is perfectly smooth and accessibly without sacrificing depth, so it would have been much more effective in a slightly more concise package. I would be more than willing to lend this album an hour and ten minutes of my time, over and over. I would listen to that amount of time on repeat for weeks given the quality of this album, but that extra 20 minutes pushes me over the edge. Instead, I’ll most likely have the hour and 10 minutes worth of material I added to my playlist playing on repeat in place of the full experience. That hour and 10 minutes consists of some of the best music that the world has been given in 2020 though, so I guess I’ll live.

I am more than blown away by the amount of improvement this band has gone through since their last record. They’ve always been such a promising act that’s just never quite stuck the landing in terms of full length releases, but this changes all of that. They’ve officially broken down the barriers of being a slightly awkward group left slightly unsure of their footing. In their ability to find their footing and become so much more sure of what it is that they are, this record has propelled them to so much greater heights in my eyes. This is a truly tremendous experience that has shattered all of my expectations and left me in awe, jaw at my knees. This is the kind of album that consists of songs that I could see myself playing in each and every situation. It’s the kind of album with a track or two for every mood under the sun, one that I could listen to in moderation everyday for years and never get bored. I really think this will go down as something timeless in my music listening for a long time to come, as despite the flaws presented by its length it’s such an undeniably beautiful record. Whether I need to let some aggression out through the curveball that is People or indulge in some relaxation and nostalgia with the bittersweet Guys, there’ll always be something on this album that I want to hear. Notes On A Conditional Form is a gorgeous and triumphant collection of songs from The 1975 that finds them finding their identity and putting their best foot forward on every track. It’s a bit long, but that’s not much of a complaint when the music contained within filled with emotionally potent and honest poetry and astounding musical versatility. This is the sound (no pun intended) of a band discovering what it is that they are and evolving into the best version of themselves they can be. - 9.1/10 (Best Songs - Frail State of Mind, Then Because She Goes, Me & You Together Song)