The English pop rock outfit impress with their third studio release, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships.
Artist: The 1975Album: A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships***1/2
English pop rock outfit, The 1975, have come a long way since the release of their 2013 self-titled debut, overhauling their image and converting detractors with 2016’s eclectic I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. The band continue to impress with their ambitious third studio release, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, the first full-length instalment in the Music for Cars era (to be followed next year by Notes on a Conditional Form).
Written almost entirely by the band themselves and co-produced by front-man Matty Healy and drummer George Daniel, the album finds The 1975 commenting on the issues of our social media-driven times in a record that simultaneously sounds modern and nostalgic. The group have spliced genres while employing guitars, drums, trumpets, flutes, pianos, and synths to variously create joyous, hopeful, melancholy, and affecting tunes.
What might divide listeners, though, is the contentious use of excessive autotune for artistic purposes. It’s an aesthetic that won’t work for everyone. You will either love the vocal effects on A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships or it’ll make you rue the day The 1975 discovered autotune.
Either way, you’ll find it hard to deny the fact that the standout tracks are terrific. The irresistibly catchy ‘TooTimeTooTimeTooTime’, the Kanye-esque ‘I Like America & America Likes Me’, the synth-pop ditty ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You)’, and the poignant album closer ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’ showcase the group’s talent at creating enjoyable pop melodies while keeping their sound unique.
Despite the occasional stylistic incline that makes them seem a bit self-indulgent, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships is another interesting addition to The 1975’s discography and leaves you eager to see what they have to offer in the next instalment.
Highlights: ‘TooTimeTooTimeTooTime’, ‘I Like America & America Likes Me’, ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You)’, ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’
