Cassette, Yellow Neon Translucent
Dirty Hit (2020) UK
Following 2018's A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, The 1975's much-anticipated fourth studio effort, Notes on a Conditional Form is the second of two albums from the British band's third release cycle, Music for Cars. Over the past six months, the band has dropped a selection of sonically-diverse singles from Notes on a Conditional Form. Released in July of 2019, "The 1975" features a spoken-word recording from Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, underscored by instrumentals. On the heels of "The 1975" came the punchy, punk-infused "People," while "Frail State Of Mind," which frontman Matty Healy described as a song about anxiety, followed in October. The two most recent singles off the album included the shoegazey "Me & You Together Song," and the twangy, "The Birthday Party."
On Notes On A Conditional Form, the band's family has grown to encompass new collaborators too, including actor Timothy Healy, Matty's father. "Don't Worry" was written by Healy senior when Matty was 11 and was dusted down and recorded by the band for NOACF. Elsewhere, FKA twigs and Phoebe Bridgers lend their vocals as backing textures and a duet from the latter. "It became such a personal record that there were no rules anymore," adds Healy. "Anybody who had breached the intimacy of the studio was inherently part of the record already. With Phoebe, I just felt like I hadn't loved a female vocal like hers in like a decade – I was obsessed with her record."