wake up… WAKE UP

By Jared Shuff / Campus Editor

There is something about British rock/pop bands that Americans just can’t get enough of. Bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd have ingrained themselves deep into American popular culture. Go to any store that sells graphic tees and you will find at least one of these bands on a shirt.

The love for Brit rock is far from over as The 1975 aims to change the world one song at a time.

The 1975 formed in 2002 and have gone from an underground high school band to some of the most highly-praised musicians of this era. Led by vocalist Matthew Healy, the band has released three studio albums, with their fourth album to be released in February of 2020. 

That being said, the band has already started promotions for this album, titled “Notes on a Conditional Form”. With three singles released to date, The 1975 is taking on the concept of civil disobedience through these songs.

The opening track, titled “The 1975”, takes a new twist on an old tradition. For those who haven’t heard any of their previous albums, the band has included an eponymous opening track in each of their albums, each one using the same lyrics while sounding completely different. This time, the band decided to use this opening track to send a message, with the help of 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg. 

The four-minute-long track has Thunberg giving a monologue over an ethereal instrumental. Pushing people to fight for the well-being of the world, Thunberg calls for “civil disobedience” to reverse the disaster of climate change. 

The next track released, “People”, sounds like nothing the band has done before. Screeching guitars, aggressive vocals, and a very in-your-face message, “People” calls for the people to “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” and make a difference in the world. Wildly political, the song covers everything from climate change to the legalization of marijuana, shouting out for people to stop “f—ing with the kids!”

Most recently released was “Frail State of Mind”, a song addressing the struggles of social anxiety in an ever-social world. In an interview with “Dazed Magazine”, Healy said that “It is a UK garage, sad, Burial kind of thing about social anxiety, you know, going out.” The song features American jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who passed away nearly a year ago. Hargrove had been featured on two other songs from the band’s previous albums.

While there are still four months until the release of the album, there are likely to be a few more releases before then. The album will have 22 tracks total. 

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