By Georgie Fleming
A poppy, electronic melange of their past four albums, The 1975’s fifth album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, is chock full of 2016 nostalgia. Releasing four singles—“Part of the Band,” “Happiness,” “I’m in Love with You,” and “All I Need to Hear”—the band’s newest work reflects an evolution of style but also leans more towards the arrangements of energetic I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016) than the ironic Notes on a Conditional Form (2020).
Saxophone, synth, and vibrant guitar combine on “Happiness” and “Oh Caroline,” evocative of 80s-esque favorites like “The Sound” and “She’s American.” The album’s 43-minute run diverts from their previous works—its brisk energy, however, does not take away from lead vocalist Matt Healy’s satirical cultural commentary. Bringing in Jack Antonoff on production, vocals, and arrangements, the radio-ready quality of the album diverges from the rawness of Notes on a Conditional Form and A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018). Considering Antonoff’s status in the pop hit-making business collaborating with Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, I was not surprised by his uncomplicated, catchy instrumentation and production.
Other standouts were “Wintering” and “About You,” reminiscent of the melancholic doting track “Paris” (2016). The perspective of this work is intrinsically romantic, in all of its cliché glory. On “About You” Healy sings, “We get married in our head,” conjuring the hopelessly romantic remembrance of past and lost love. Its colorful, energetic bridges and catchy repetitions have a commercial quality, yet it does not altogether discredit the band’s use of abstract lyricism. Being Funny in a Foreign Language is certainly one of their most light-hearted works to date; nonetheless, The 1975 salvages their integrity by relishing the corny and prioritizing feel-good sounds.
3.5 / 5
