The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships Words Nick Levine

We’re not exactly living in a golden age of guitar bands, but The 1975’s last album, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It, debuted at number one in the UK and US. Then again, the Manchester four-piece have some not-so-secret weapons that equip them well for this era of streaming and social media: they only sometimes sound like a guitar band, and their frontman Matty Healy is smart, literate and super-charismatic. This June, they donated money to the London LGBTQ Community Centre, showing they know allyship is about more than waving a rainbow flag on Pride day.

This effervescent and very entertaining third album should continue the band’s ascent. To say it’s all over the place musically would be an understatement. Within the first 15 minutes, they’ve already bounced from squalling punk-pop (Give Yourself a Try) to melancholy tropical house (TooTimeTooTimeTooTime) to a dreamy ballad that turns into a trip-hop track (How to Draw / Petrichor). And it hardly calms down after this: alternative R&B bop I Like America & America Likes Me recalls Frank Ocean, while jazzy jam Mine sounds like background music from a bar scene in a ‘90s rom-com.

Sometimes the band’s genre-hopping smacks a little of showing off: I Couldn’t Be More in Love is a Phil Collins-style ballad with a key change so shameless it’s got to be tongue-in-cheek. But mostly, their songwriting is so strong it’s hard to care. Sincerity is Scary earns its rousing gospel-flecked chorus. I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) sounds so anthemic and arena-ready, it’s like woke Oasis. It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You) is the sort of effortlessly catchy ‘80s indie tune you can imagine Call Me By Your Name’s Elio and Oliver dancing to.

It helps that Healy is as witty and compelling as ever. “I fight crime online sometimes, and write rhymes I hide behind,” he sings self-deprecatingly on Mine. Love It If We Made It sees him confront how fucked-up society has become with subtle references to Brexit and environmental decline and not-so-subtle jabs at Trump. Sure, he’s occasionally kind of cringe – “Getting STDs at 27 really isn’t the vibe,” he sings on Give Yourself a Try – but that’s part of his charm. If mainstream chart pop has sometimes felt a bit bland in 2018, this weird and wonderful album could be the antidote.