12/28/2022 0 Comments The 1975 somebody else genre![]() It evoked visceral responses from listeners beyond the indie genre in a way that The 1975’s self-titled debut LP failed to, and that translated into substantial, commercial success.While the strategy may have been a tad gimmicky, the shift reflected The 1975’s new direction in their online buildup to I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, their sophomore album, released on Feb. The album debuted at #1 on both sides of the Atlantic in its first week, and went on to be nominated for Best British Album at the 2017 BRIT Awards, where the band instead won Best British Group. Hell, even the optimistic melodies and squeaky-clean boyband ambition of ‘She’s American’ and the breathless, soaring highs of ‘Loving Someone’ often provided a much-needed shot of positivity.Īnd it seems like I was not alone in my devotion to ‘I Like It When You Sleep…’. The song’s model of using wit and drama in equal measure to illustrate mental health issues was accessible – and I found glimmers of comfort in its spiralling melodies as my own disorder continued to hack away at my secondary education. The 1975 gained popularity as the de facto leaders of the black-and-white-striped Tumblr revolution of late 2013 and early 2014 (of which I was embarrassingly committed to), but it wasn’t until hearing ‘I Like It When You Sleep…’ that I began to carve out epiphanies from their music.įor a teenager that had only known the past few years of their life as defined by chemical imbalance, the stirring album track ‘The Ballad Of Me And My Brain’ was deeply poignant: “Where would I be if I was my brain?”, lamented Healy over twinkling instrumentation. Like many internet-focused teenagers of the mid-2010s, I came of age through platforms such as Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube online communities outside of school where I could become infatuated with the band du jour, and a grid by which I learned music fandom, social networking, and the ways of a subculture. ‘I Like It When You Sleep…’ had arresting anthems of youth, sexuality, confusion, identity, lust and grief that were universal enough to pique the interest of the mainstream (‘The Sound’ hit #15 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart, the band’s highest position to date), but for younger listeners, it also provided a gateway into the artists from which it heavily borrowed. Here was an album so messy, mighty, and complex, one that found its genius in pinching filched elements from The 1975’s obvious core influences and turning them into a collection of near-perfect songs for a new generation of pop obsessives, myself included. I had found the perfect coping mechanism. And at the risk of sounding arrogant, I always felt light-years ahead of peers in my musical taste and knowledge. My designated free periods, which were ostensibly reserved for practising mindfulness and breathing techniques, became time to delve into my ever-growing collection of music magazines, highlighter in hand, diving into as many recommended albums as my free Spotify subscription would allow. ![]() I sat every single one of my exams alone in classrooms on the opposite side of the school away from my classmates, with just an overly sympathetic invigilator to keep me company.īut living with GAD throughout my teenage years meant that I was hyper-observant and constantly turned on to what was going on around me, both on a micro level and macro. I dealt with debilitating panic attacks on a weekly basis. ![]() As a first-year GCSE student riddled with a severe diagnosis of Generalised Anxiety Disorder – a lifelong condition that affects up to 5% of the UK population – I was navigating my way through high school via a reduced timetable, daily pastoral support, and a lion’s share of counselling sessions. I was 15-years-old when ‘I Like It When You Sleep…’ landed. ‘I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful, Yet So Unaware Of It’ was an epic, theatrical reinvention for a band that had previously shrouded themselves in a gloomy grunge-lite aesthetic, and there was great fanfare surrounding the record from the off: “The world needs this album,” frontman Matty Healy told NME a few weeks prior to the release date.īeyond all of the hyperbole and media posturing, though, there was some truth in Healy’s statement this 17-track, 75-minute long opus immediately gave a generation of young pop fans the feeling that this album may have been written just for them. Five years ago, on February 26 2016, The 1975’s second album arrived in a striking blaze of pink neon.
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