I’m sure there were parts of The 1975’s latest album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, that were in fact about being funny. I however, felt that it had more to do with love. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.
Now, similar to a lot of their other full-length releases, this one was just alright. Their debut album remains the best, but the EP preceding that will always be even better. From there, it’s felt like they’ve let pop music sink into the bones of their band, and maybe that’s always what they had set out to be, but it will never impress me like the beginnings. In that regard, this album is about as pop as they come. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t know that if I hadn’t been a fan back in the day that I would have given this album a chance. A lot of it sounds the same from their prior two releases, and Matt Healy’s voice continues to change in a way that’s hard to reconcile with that long-ago EP.
With all that being said, I did find most of this record very pleasant to listen to, and I think with maybe another full spin or two, I could grow to really like a lot of these tracks. For instance, the lead and self-tilted (?), “The 1975,” had some really fun quirks and oddities throughout, but it being the first song, I think it took the most getting used to. “About You” and “I’m In Love With You” definitely have the potential to be repeaters in the future for me. The only song that really landed during this first listen was “Wintering.” “When We Are Together” was so close to being a smash the first time through, too, but it ultimately needs more time in my ears.
As I said, sure, this album may be about being funny, but from what I could gather, it’s mainly about love. I’d love to delve in deeper to a lot of the lyrics of these songs. I couldn’t recite back any particular line at the moment, but while I was listening, the lyrics were really the strongest part of the album. I especially liked what I heard during “The 1975,” “Wintering,” and “When We Are Together.” You know what, I lied. The lead song repeated, “I’m sorry if you’re living and you’re seventeen.” Maybe I’m making that sentiment more powerful than they’re meaning it to be, but it kind of floored me a little bit. I know I wouldn’t want to be a seventeen year-old hearing that lyric.
Overall, this was perhaps as a whole better than some of its predecessors, but not something that’s going to make me fall in love with this band again. I’m glad I got to see them a few times earlier in their career, and I can be happy with that for a long time. If you’re a fan of the bands more recent work, then definitely give this a spin.