the 1975

Matty Healy confirmed Cum Town listener

Matty Healy listening to Oliver Houston and cum town made me realize how small the world is and that dudes rock pic.twitter.com/FTaRp7bCOZ

— IVmaj7 (@fourmajor7) July 7, 2022

what is cum town?

Track is great. The opening and chorus remind me of Phoebe Bridgers (that bit of cello at :11 sounds like the "Funeral" intro) while my immediate thought on hearing the syncopated strings was Radiohead's "Burn the Witch." But the verse vocal melody and lyrics ("I know some Vaccinista tote bag chic baristas/ Sittin' east on their communista keisters/ Writin' about their ejaculations" -- geez) are pure Matty Healy, and nobody does it quite like him.

In the final minute and a half they add elements of country and folk rock, and smooth the whole thing out into a lovely acoustic guitar pop song that's far more complex than it sounds--something Justin Vernon isn't always able to do.

Also LOLed at the part in the video where he falls backward, arms flailing, from the weight of the pack.

revisiting the s/t. they are a better band now that they're more complicated but i still adore this record. all the stuff that would explode open on the later records are like little hints laced within normal pop-rock songs and the slight frisson of that combo is still really pleasurable to hear (cf. the synth drum breakdown of "m.o.n.e.y.," the singles that inch closer to prince than to indie rock, even though "sex" being like the most backlit jimmy eat world song of all time is also part of the total effect). the only (synth-)pop-rock(-r&b) record i can think of that takes place entirely at night

they hadn't really learned how to write bridges yet which is the main thing that frustrates me about the debut

& a lot of their stronger material from the time that really demonstrated their breadth was only on the EPs, they very deliberately focused their sound for the album, but there's still like "m.o.n.e.y." and "menswear"

idk i think the eps, rather than demonstrating their breadth, mined a really specific aesthetic they have yet to return to, and on the successive albums they gradually amoebically split into like twenty separate bands that all exist in superposition

new track "Happiness" next Wednesday

god what an absolute fucking banger

the intro worried me for a sec but as soon as the song kicked in oh yeah

the song i needed today.

this is gooooood

getting boy meets girl vibes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1lgEMMJwo

the video is awesome

also kind of a return to first album style, which I've been waiting for

this is my favorite song

Not stepping outside their wheelhouse much, but I'm never disappointed by their songs that go back to the first album sound

uhh the horn solo reminds me of another song that i can't quite put my finger on

oh hell yes

North America tour, 2022
Sign up for ticket pre-sale on Mondayhttps://t.co/cMcfXr5PdO pic.twitter.com/Tg3YZaFsSc

— The 1975 (@the1975) August 3, 2022

this song is superb. 1st alb vibes otm

Interesting that people are comparing it to their 1st album. I'd say it feels more like a mix of a lot of the stuff from their second album: UGH!, The Sound, She's American, etc.

yep i had the same thought Marko. the rhythm guitar has that real glistening serpentine quality that i associate strongly with i like it when you sleep. needless to say this song kicks ass

the synths too are more reminiscent of i like it when you sleep

kinda wish it introduced another idea instead of sticking to the one groove the whole song but it works

Really surprised there's not a Chicago stop, I'd be tempted to try to see them.

Healy with fabulous hair

matty talked to zane lowe about how they made the song

“Happiness” is like… there’s literally loads of us in the room on that track. Locked eyes…Doesn’t really have much structure. It came through like jamming. And we haven’t done that in like years. So we just wanted this record to be really like a captured moment and not be too constructed and even produced that much…we did it in like a day or so. And it’s us having fun.

interesting to read this bcuz the thing that struck me about this song on subsequent listens is that the lyrics are far more fragmented than the dense, reference heavy, perspective shifting writing we generally associate w/ him. even on some of the more streamlined pop singles he usually sets a scene or places his character somewhere (a party etc). there's nothing like that here. there are no jokes. i wonder if he essentially freestyled this... it's kinda refreshing in a way, economical and a bit mysterious what he's gesturing at beyond the desperation that course thru the song.

also this felt like a real "essence of the band" kinda song & so it makes sense to read that it came out of them jamming. like at their core when left to just come up w/ something w/o it being an intellectual or genre exercise, this is what they do

kinda think almost every lyric in the song can be read two different ways, and that's the joke

I wonder what Healy's idea of modern art is.

ah found it:

https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1640984407-almine-rech-haley-josephs-portrait.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&cs=srgb

also dj sabrina the teenage dj did production this. iconic.

I would like to be in a band that sips cool cocktails before jamming with Matt Healy.

also dj sabrina the teenage dj did production this. iconic.

someone find healy's rym account

this reminds me a little of comedown machine, the interlocking guitars but also the chill nature of the vocal melody, where it's just sort of stumbling into pleasant phrases rather than sounding overly composed, if that makes any sense

finally watched the video and why aren't they the biggest band in the world

she showed me what love is
i'm acting like i know myself

last two videos have def been their best music videos ever *skin crawls when remembering some of the commissioned notes music videos*

yeah absolutely

other strong videos: "frail state of mind", "sincerity is scary", "me & you together song", "a change of heart"

I can think of a couple of big cities missing from that tour ...

also dj sabrina the teenage dj did production this. iconic.

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, August 3, 2022 4:15 PM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Nice. Loved this album/mixtape from last year that's a sugar rush of Avalanches-eque sample-heavy dance music/synth pop and VHS-era nostalgia

https://djsabrinatheteenagedj.bandcamp.com/album/the-makin-magick-ii-album

Also, haven't read far yet but:

https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/the-1975-interview/

they originally recorded the new album with BJ Burton ahhhhhhhdjskfkgmgmfmm

It's a good piece! I love the idea of a band that gets equal love from Taylor Swift and Brian Eno.

I was briefly scared that Antonoff produced it, not because I have a particular problem with his production/writing, but because the band doesn't *need* a ringer. But it looks like he only worked on a couple of tracks. And despite not using him, I'm still kind of glad they gave BJ a shot, because it's a concession that there are some things they maybe *can't* do (which gives them plenty of places to grow and go in the future), and also maybe recognized from the experience that there are things they *shouldn't* do, too, at least not now (which perhaps reveals, along with the shorter run-time, a newfound sense of restraint).

Speaking of which, !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWzSqaNJj0

desperately want them to try working with burton again, obviously he wouldn't be a good fit for the more naturalistic direction they ended up going in on this but i would absolutely love them to try making a weird electronic left-turn

Would have been very interesting to hear but I'm not surprised the pairing didn't work out

he’s currently talking to companies like Netflix to release a 1975 documentary that includes footage of the band going back more than 15 years

Please please please

bjb sounded pretty sour about it

Well they did leave him for Jack Antonoff

it sounds like he wanted to really push them to make weird electronic stuff, but it was a difficult process and they didn't end up feeling it was what they wanted to do right at that moment in time, hence going to antonoff and making a "live in a room no twiddling with computers" album instead

they do sound like it's something they're interested in possibly revisiting at some point though

i imagine a burton-produced "part of the band" would just be a straight-up bon iver song lol

On the day we meet, he puffs on a string of relatively mild hash joints. It’s part of an effort to wean himself away from stronger strains as he prepares for an upcoming festival gig in Japan, where drug laws are strict and good weed is hard to find. “The last person I got weed off in Japan was Dave Mustaine from Megadeth, and I don’t think he’s gonna be there,” Healy deadpans. “And my plug in Japan died during COVID. Rest in peace to, um, he was just in my phone as ‘Fat Japan Dealer,’ but he was a good guy.”

just an incredible paragraph there

Well they did leave him for Jack Antonoff

poor bjb is probably getting that a lot these days