Beneath the 1975’s brilliant sheen lies a sense of doom. Look around you—can’t you sense it, too? Millions of us scrolling through social media with glazed eyes and fragile psyches, unable to find connection beyond the confines of our bedrooms, snorting Adderall and watching porn just to register a pulse. You know, we live in society. On past records, frontman Matty Healy explored these maladies with a comic, clumsy edge, stuffing his lyrics with Donald Trump tweets, writing songs about FaceTime sex, and opening an 80-minute album with a speech from climate activist Greta Thunberg. The 1975 aspire toward sincerity and radicality, to make music that’s actually meaningful. Then they look in the mirror and chafe at their own reflection.
