the 1975

https://youtu.be/OXYVr_8ANPk

ah another single I will need to resist listening to

I love exactly one 1975 track and that's 'The Man Who Married a Robot'

"the birthday party" is so lovely

expecting the track in between "frail state of mind" and "the birthday party" to break me

the generational observations of "give yourself a try" with the emotional sweep of "if i believe you"... this is a yes from me

their sax solos always wreck me.

my personal favs, but this is impossible.

somebody else
paris
me
undo
the ballad of me and my brain
menswear
head.cars.bending
a change of heart
love it if we made it
sincerity is scary
so far (it's alright)
it's not living if it's not with you

Love It If We Made It
Paris
She’s American
A Change of Heart
Chocolate
The Sound
People
Somebody Else
This Must Be My Dream
Sincerity Is Scary

Love this so much. Seeing them on Saturday and can't wait.

omg “The Birthday Party”. Ridiculous video, gorgeous song.

What’s been increasingly obvious with the pre-releases for the new album is how stylistically... diffuse and undirected the band has become. In particular songs like this and “Guys” seem dictated by overarching vision that is emotive but not necessarily aesthetic in a thought out way. Perhaps this was always the case but less obvious when the band was new and still stretching its wings (and the first album was obviously mostly very focused).

This is perhaps also why the band can increasingly tread into a kind of post-Britpop/Travis terrain of anti-conceptual directness: there’s no guardrail to stop them. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they can do so “safely”, because I’ve seen lots of great artists slowly lose sight of whatever guardrails kept them interesting, but certainly their reflexive aesthetic inclinations, like here the closing sax solo or Matt’s general lyrical approach, are like good luck charms that light the way.

This is the POX I posted in 2018 which still looks pretty decent:

fallingforyou
Me
Love It If We Made It
Somebody Else
The Ballad of Me and My Brain
Menswear
Undo
Paris
Head.Cars.Bending
Sex

My contrastan move is to always include “Sex” because I think it is a perfect song, almost a tribute to perfect-songwriting.

how is this band so good at this

I’m sorry but if you give this new song a free pass you lose your right to speak against John Mayer’s music.

uh you may find defenders here, Moka

Ah in that case carry on. I actually like it and John Mayer’s music but Iirc John Mayer is specially hated around here. I’m not about to crosscheck people who hate John Mayer and love everything The 1975 puts out because ain’t nobody got time for that.

heart out
settle down
robbers
menswear
the city
fallingforyou
if i believe you
ballad of me and my brain
sincerity is scary
mine
i couldnt be more in love

mayer has classics imo

it sounds more like a yo la tengo ballad filtered through their trademark sophisti-pop production than john mayer

I only like a handful of Mayer songs (e.g. “Heartbreak Warfare”) but in any event Frank Kogan’s “Boany Joan Rule” seems more relevant the older I get:

https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/archive/2007/jul/12/the-rules-of-the-game-no-6-the-boney-joan-rule/Thanks

I only like a handful of Mayer songs

― Tim F, Wednesday, February 19, 2020 bookmarkflaglink

i could maybe commit to a pox

add yo la tengo to the influence masterlist

someone please begin linking to the john mayer songs that sound like this. if they exist i want to hear

ok just listened to the new one to see if i can hear any mayer adjacent sounds in there... maybe wheel?

is that a banjo in the birthday party mix?

i want the 1975 to produce a country song.

in the interview matty did while premiering this song he said the plan after notes is for him & george to make solo albums produced by each other.

I think maybe “who says” is the most 1975 John Mayer track?

Anyway I think mayer is much more of a self satisfied yuppie persona I find grating, he’s way less likely to rock the boat or say shits fucked up when it’s fucked up whereas matty is willing to go out on a limb ... something abt mayer still has this fratty entitlement

https://youtu.be/akvu1AOnUIw

i think matty’s best lyrics are on i like it when you sleep. i might be biased

still digesting "the birthday party" but "guys" and "if you're too shy (let me know)" sound amazing, can't wait for studio versions.

best band on the planet in any case.

lmao at the video for this

Maybe I'm hanging out in the wrong Twitter comments (Steven Hyden) but am confounded by the hatred of this band from what I (maybe incorrectly?) presume are mostly middle aged white American men. I think the new song is lovely and all they hear is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Pinegrove. The same people who ate up "Ambition makes you look pretty ugly/ kicking squealing Gucci little piggy" a generation ago now think Healy is a fraud, and I don't get it...

Maybe I'm hanging out in the wrong Twitter comments (Steven Hyden)

hyden is a prize dumbass

I tell myself I’m over this band for the moment and then struggle with making a top 10 out of so many beautiful songs. I haven’t listened to anything unreleased yet, so this is just from the official releases. At this moment in time:

Fallingforyou
I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)
I Couldn’t Be More In Love
Love It If We Made It
Robbers
Settle Down
She’s American
Somebody Else
Surrounded By Heads and Bodies
This Must Be My Dream

To my mind, one difference between Yorke (circa OK Computer) and Healy is that, while Yorke probably would have told people he was full of shit if asked, he always performed/performs the songs very seriously. Matt meanwhile has almost constructed a performative persona around being in on the joke, kind of “don’t believe anything you hear, and least of all this”. It really struck me when I saw a TV show performance of “The Sound” a few years back and Matt sang the song like he was doing a karaoke performance of someone else’s tune, which, conceptually he kind of was? And that is very present at the songwriting level - for example, I cannot think of a band or artist who has written more songs structured as conversations between unreliable narrators.

Considered objectively, this should perhaps make Matt less of a fraud than Thom (though the entire question of “is this fraudulent” is dumb and unhelpful in any event), but I think a lot of people hear Matt’s coded “I am full of shit” messaging and mistake it for something they have worked out for themselves, congratulating themselves for perceiving a kind of fakeness/shallowness to the pseudo-profundity as if that wasn’t precisely the vibe that Matt had been seeking to convey.

Well said, Tim F.

Chocolate
Heart Out
UGH
The Ballad of Me and My Brain
Somebody Else
The Sound
Love It If We Made It
Sincerity Is Scary
I Like America & America Likes Me
It's Not Living If It's Not With You

I could listen to "The Birthday Party" on loop for a long time, such a great vibe. it's maybe my favorite song of theirs on first listen since "Somebody Else". though I have no idea how to feel about the video

and yeah I think that is a banjo in the mix

"you & me together song" is a banger but this hits on a different level

i'm a simpleton, "you & me together song" is my fave out of all the new stuff. (followed by "People")

starting to be convinced they won't release the album until every after every single track has been issued as a single

They were amazing last night - If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) was a big singalong already (and sounded absolutely amazing), in fact all the new songs were great (even Guys, which I was dubious of on first listen, was quite affecting).

The few old EP tracks they played were great too, particularly fallingforyou and HNSCC.

They're opening with People/Sex/TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME/Me & You Together Song, but it doesn't feel frontloaded. In fact I think they could already play 3 hours shows without it feeling like they were stretching for material.

i think "the birthday party" is... one of their best songs?

Good thoughts, Tim F

the track times are up on itunes - it's 80 minutes total https://music.apple.com/us/album/notes-on-a-conditional-form/1473599936

it's been delayed yet again too apparently to may 22.

the tracklisting also leaked via some swedish retailer:
The 1975
People
The End (Music For Cars)
Frail State of Mind
Streaming
The Birthday Party
Yeah I Know
Then Because She Goes
Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America
Roadkill
Me & You Together Song
I Think There's Something You Should Know
Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied
Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)
Shiny Collarbone
If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)
Playing On My Mind
Having No Head
What Should I Say
Being Funny In A Funny Language
Don't Worry
Guys

Tbh i always figured 22 tracks was some kinda bluff lol. christ

it's not quite their melon collie but they're trying

They must be so mad the zeitgeist has completely shifted since their long promo campaign started

Honestly why this new album is delayed https://t.co/PaF7Iy4gO1

— 🥾🌍 (@Truman_Black) March 4, 2020

but of course

anyway I'm pleased I have still only heard 1/11th of this ("people" and "frail state of mind")