Label: Vagrant Records
In twelve months, The 1975 could be headlining arenas worldwide.
Lofty praise, certainly, but when young, endearing kids (the group’s oldest member is 23) write hook-laden, pop anthems, the sky is truly the limit.
And if this album is any indication, that’s probably the starting point.
After substantial hype (including tour invitations from Rihanna and Fall Out Boy), the Manchester quartet gets everything right on their self-titled debut LP.
Combining big choruses, pulsing bass lines, lyrics destined for screen names and Mike Crossey’s slick production (Arctic Monkeys, Keane, Jake Bugg), the footprints are laid for a platinum record.
And when this album explodes, as it probably will, it should be on the back of two hit singles.
The first, “Chocolate”, should challenge Third Eye Blind’s “Semi Charmed Life” as the catchiest drug-related pop song in recent memory (think Phoenix’s “Lisztomania”, but with radio polish).
The second, “Sex”, combines a driving bass line and nostalgic lyrics with clever pop hooks. It sounds like something Jimmy Eat World would write if they were teenagers in 2013.
But this band digs much deeper than the last 15 years of FM radio.
With its punchy beat, layered vocals and saxophone solo, “Heart Out” wouldn’t be out of place on a Fleetwood Mac or Hall & Oates record. Similar praise should be afforded to “Settle Down” (arguably the album’s best track), which combines the soaring melodies and jam guitar lines you’d expect on a Phil Collins single.
But the nostalgia doesn’t stop there.
By the end of “Talk”, you’ll be reminiscing about Dream Academy’s “Life In A Northern Town”, while “Robbers” will remind you of the first time you heard U2’s “With Or Without You”.
In fact, the entire album should force listeners to re-discover Michael Jackson, Genesis and Talking Heads (amongst others).
In previous interviews, the group suggested their debut album was an attempt to write the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie. It’s safe to say they’ve probably done it.
Of course, no album is perfect. At 16 songs, the band may have slightly overshot and allowed a number of good, but not outstanding songs (“M.O.N.E.Y.”, “Girls”, “She Way Out”) to dilute an otherwise incredible album.
With some minor resequencing and the removal of several tracks, this is probably the best pop album of the last three years.
As it stands, it will have to settle for the best pop album of 2013.
Download: “Chocolate”, “Sex”, “Settle Down”, “Heart Out”, “The City”
jay@cavemag.com
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