By Julia Dzurillay
Correspondent
Imagine a band of good-looking, young men singing about real-life situations highlighting love, heartbreak, alcohol and drugs. A few bands come to mind, but no other band does it quite like The 1975, an indie-alternative band from the United Kingdom.
Frontman Matty Healy has been writing songs since his childhood days, but it wasn’t until 2002 that The 1975 was brought to life. After the massive success of their 2013 self-titled album and non-stop touring around the world, the boys are back with a new single.
Instead of their usual alternative music, the band has turned in a direction of a sound which Healy called “bubblegum-pink pop.” This innovative genre title definitely captures the essence of their new single “Love Me,” which was released Thursday, Oct. 8.
Within a week, the song reached No. 1 on the UK charts and gained support from fans across the globe. The band was ecstatic with the positive feedback. Healy tweeted to fans, “I am so incredibly humbled and in love with you all, I really am. Let’s keep it there and show pop music what’s up!!”
Over the summer, the band members collectively deleted their social media accounts in an effort to hype their new music. All that was left of them was a very vague and cryptic comic strip left on their manager’s Twitter page signed, “Love, me.” Naturally, fans went crazy, as they assumed the band was breaking up. That is, until the band’s Twitter account reappeared with a completely new aesthetic. They were still the same members of The 1975, but they were a completely different band.
The 1975 have made a name for themselves as an indie band with a creative and indirect way of incorporating serious topics into their songs. Their most popular song, “Chocolate,” sounds innocent at first listen. However, a look into the lyrics reveals a discussion on the excessive heroin and drug addictions of our generation.
With “Love Me,” the quality of lyrics has visibly diminished. The profoundness in their lyrics went from, “A small town dictating all the people we get around, what a familiar face,” in “Settle Down” to “Next thing you’ll find you’re reading about yourself on a plane (fame!) What a shame.” These new lyrics are far from the usual “cherry lips, crystal skies,” basic pop lines, but they are definitely different from the usual 1975.
Part of the fun of listening to The 1975 was deciphering what Healy was really thinking while he wrote his songs. However, this song’s message is stated plainly in the title, “Love Me.”
In terms of lyrical structure, the song is not progressive. The verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus structure is basically that of cookie-cutter pop music. It mimics bands like Peter Gabriel and Duran Duran in its sound, which seems like a step backward for the band. Their originality is far gone.
As a fan, I am very proud of all of their success, however, I do not think the song is as good as the older 1975 songs I have come to love. They are removing the challenge of becoming a mainstream indie-alternative band to follow a route outlined by so many musicians prior.
Still, while the new single is definitely not as good as their other songs, it is undeniably catchy, and I will surely continue listen to it. Who doesn’t love another pop song?
