The 1975 released its album “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” on Oct. 14. Led by Matty Healy, the English pop-rock band formed in 2002 and saw massive success with the release of its self-titled album in 2013. The 1975 explores mixing pop-rock and synth-pop with different elements of new wave music. Like the band’s other releases, “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” features lyrics that are almost cheesy with the occasional sassy line about post-modern existentialism.
Jack Antonoff helped produce the album, and it shows, especially in tracks such as “Part of the Band” and “Oh Caroline.” The album is reminiscent of Bleachers’ “Gone Now” and Lorde’s “Melodrama,” both of which are fantastic pop albums. Almost all of Antonoff’s productions sound like they came from an ‘80s coming-of-age film, and “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” is no exception. Antonoff is known for his regular work with artists such as Taylor Swift, Florence, the Machine and now The 1975.
“Being Funny In A Foreign Language” has been massively successful due to it being an extension of the band’s freshman and sophomore albums. Fans were given a taste of this through singles “Happiness” and “I’m In Love With You.” This album was highly anticipated, as their 2020 album “Notes On A Conditional Form” was a disappointment.
“Notes” was an attempted groundbreaking personal project, but just turned out to be a pretentious mess of songs. Fans have been waiting for the band to revisit the glazed eye, apocalyptic, broken-hearted attitude The 1975 revealed in their first two albums, “The 1975” and “I like it when you sleep, because you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it.” “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” ties up the loose ends left in the plot of these two albums and tackles the concept of love.
Continuing with the tradition, the album opens with a self-titled track as an introduction to the rest of the album. “The 1975” gives listeners the familiar taste of the band’s original sound and makes several references to the previous albums they have chosen to channel. The line “You’re makin’ an aesthetic out of not doing well” is the most obvious reference to The 1975’s first two albums, as both heavily glorify drug abuse.
The line “And I’m sorry if you’re livin’ and you’re 17” references the line “But she can’t be what you need if she’s seventeen” from “Girls” on their freshman album and addresses the apocalyptic feeling of growing up reflected in the ‘80s-style instrumentals throughout the rest of the album. This particular track doesn’t have much to show in terms of instrumentals, but it’s a great prerequisite to the rest of the album.
“About You” is the best example of a sequel to their older music, and I think it’s the best track on the album. For fans who grew up listening to “Robbers” on repeat, this song is a familiar and welcoming sound. Although the band has retreated to their original instrumentals, fans may notice the audio sounds raw compared to their freshman and sophomore albums.
The sound is still reminiscent of new wave elements but excludes the synthesizer. This is a welcome surprise, and shows the band’s music has matured to the point where they are able to achieve the desired sound using only instruments and fewer electronic alterations. The female voice heard in the bridge is that of Carly Holt, wife of guitarist Adam Hann. This appears to be the only time she has participated in or produced music of any kind, but hopefully she continues as her voice is the best part of this track.
“Being Funny In A Foreign Language” is concise and to the point at only 44 minutes. Not one of the 11 tracks missed their intended target, but other standouts included “Part Of The Band,” “When We Are Together” and “Looking For Somebody (To Love).”
This album embraces the cliche of being in love. Healy risks being cringey in order to be sincere, and he walks the line between the two perfectly. The 1975 has finally given up on the pretentious and messy personal projects and gone back to their original and well-loved pop-rock sound.
