Album Review: The 1975 - 'Being Funny in a Foreign Language'
Often a song precedes the band. This was the case with The 1975 for me until I saw them headline at Reading Festival this year as a last-gasp replacement for Rage Against The Machine.
The 1975 was obviously a name I’d heard bandied around and I was familiar with the songs everybody was. Chocolate, The City, Sex and Somebody Else all seem to be steeped in a teenage and early twenties nostalgia . I’d never listened to them out of choice - but knew them all, pretty much word for word.
It wasn’t until after their spellbinding display on the closing night of Reading Festival I found myself doing a deep dive of their discography and finding myself in a mixture of awe and disbelief as to how I hadn’t listened to them sooner. Since then I’ve been familiarising myself with pretty much all of their back catalogue ahead of their 2023 tour when I’ll be heading to Exeter to see them again.
Being Funny in a Foreign Language, their fifth studio album, is another project littered with the types of hits I listed earlier. Inescapable melodies, catchy choruses and an ode to funky synth-wave instrumentation.
The album’s production credits feature pop powerhouse Jack Antonoff, who is also named on Taylor Swift’s 2017 album Reputation and her 2020 surprise release Folklore. He’s previously worked with fun, notably “We Are Young” and more recently Olivia Rodrigo’s billion stream song, Deja Vu. This list of accolades and accreditations should give you some insight into what to expect from the latest record from The 1975. Previous records have learnt heavily into darker themes, namely mental health issues and substance abuse, Antonoff on production was always a good indicator that this would be a much lighter record - at least instrumentally.
Happiness, the second single from the album, is a pop anthem. Funky riffs and repetitive lyrics, as well as the great and under-appreciated use of a saxophone make this a real standout. Healy croons “show me your love, why don’t you grow up and see” across a smorgasbord of pop instrumentation. It’s a beautiful use of vocal layering and a real demonstration of The 1975’s ability to bridge the gap between pop and indie.
Wintering is a song about a family reunion at Christmas and highlights the eccentricity and irregularity of Healy’s family. The son of the now separated Denise Welch (Loose Women) and Tim Healy (Auf Wiedersen, Benidorm) concludes “I just came for the stuffing, I don’t want to argue about nothing, I’ll be home on the 23rd”. A poignant nod to the fact that Christmas Dinner table discussions have become increasingly hostile in most households, centred around politics and social issues. As a man who is no stranger to controversy, it surprises me Matty Healy takes this approach - but it may be the only way to ensure everybody is still amicable by the time Christmas Pudding is served.
About You is proclaimed to be the continuation to fan favourite, Robbers, which is in my opinion, the greatest song the band have ever released. The use of reverb makes it sound like you’re hearing it during a soundcheck. It’s tense, well structured and the use of distortion only adds to the gothic and eerie backdrop. “Do you think that I’ve forgotten?” is repeated in a fashion that’s almost enchanting. It’s easy to draw comparisons between Matty Healy and Morrissey, both are divisive characters yet heralded and adored far and wide by their fans; this is the first time I can clearly hear a similarity in their music. Intrigued as to who accompanies Healy on vocals, I found it was Carly Holt, the wife of Adam Hann, lead guitarist. An interesting choice considering Healy’s phone book and high profile friendships with Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers - but credit given where it’s due, Carly did a brilliant job.
This album features less pithy social commentary than others, it earmarks a very different period of the life of the band. Love is clearly the recurring theme, from the euphoric “I’m in Love With You” which almost audibly encapsulates the feeling of falling in love to “About You, a cathartic yet oddly composed outpour over an ex - it simultaneously feels scatter-brained and well put together.
Adam Hann, lead guitarist, describes the album as a “collection of Polaroids, it’s not our Magnus Opus” which is an apt and accurate description of the album. From the singles alone, it was easy to distinguish that the album seemed to shape organically and songs that stylistically don’t necessarily fit the theme of the album still make the cut. The first single Part Of The Band almost sounds as if it’s from an entirely different project - but is nevertheless more than worthy of being on the tracklist.
Upon first listen, it’s a more mature sound. It’s a better composed and reformed album which is to be expected as the band start to enter their mid thirties. There’s still tongue in cheek references and ample opportunities for Matty Healy to display his best dad dancing on stages far and wide. The name of their new tour describes it better than I can, it’s The 1975: At Their Very Best.
Words by Cameron Miller
