In 2012, a band quickly emerged out of the Newcastle music scene and into a nationwide spotlight with multiple hit songs off of three EPs that were released within a single year. Now, The 1975 is known by music fans of different genres and age groups, drawing people in with their variety of styles that tend to touch on a variety on genres, making it difficult to put them into a single category. Having previously released two full length album, both of which contain multiple national hits, their new album entitled A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships has been highly awaited by patient fans.
The band is not only known for some of their iconic sounds, but also for their dedicated fans and the hype that they have created. Each album they have released has brought a new specific era, which includes everything from the band’s musical style, to color scheme, to on-stage set-up. This gives fans the opportunity to become fully absorbed within the bands music and “aesthetic,” which is also another reason why the new album is so passionately looked forward to.
On June 1, they released their newest single and announced two new albums that will both be released within the next year. The single, “Give Yourself A Try,” has given fans a tease of what this new era is to bring. Showcasing their usual 80’s synth pop sound, paired with a more post punk guitar melody, the new single sets the scene for what to expect of the new albums both thematically and musically.
The single was released with a music video as well. Veering from the visual aesthetic themes found in music videos from past albums, the “Give Yourself A Try” video sets the four members playing clear instruments in a mirror surrounded room. Matty Healy, the singer and frontman of the group,’s freshly dyed, bright reddish orange hair is a visual focal point that seems to stand out against the rest of the set up.
As superficial as it sounds, Healy’s hair has been a big talking point with fans during the transition into this new musical era. Since the band originally started to gain fame, Healy has has his iconic ‘emo lord’ black and curly hair. In the past few months, however, there have been glimpses of an array of different color dyed hair that he has experimented with. Although this might seem insignificant, I think that it just shows the personal existential changes Healy has undergone between the release of the last album and now. As the lyrics of “Give Yourself A Try” say, “you’re getting spiritually enlightened at twenty-nine.” Healy’s personal maturity and change of outlook is reflected both in his music and in the way he portrays himself.
When announcing the new albums, it was a shock to some fans that there would be two more albums released under The 1975. Healy has said multiple times over the years that The 1975 was created to be a trilogy album installation. The first of the new albums to be released, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, is set to be released in October 2018. “Our first three albums are the story of a person; it’s always kind of been my story. It spanned adolescence to maturity, success and trying to mediate the two, and the third one is where we are now,” said Healy to NME. It was also confirmed by Jamie Oborne, the band’s manager, that there will be more singles released before the album’s release date. As far as we know now, the fourth album, Notes on a Conditional Form, is not part of the original planned The 1975 trilogy. In fact, there is not much to be known about this album, other than it is set for release in May 2019.
Photo from The 1975’s “Give Yourself a Try” Music Video
