In case you haven’t heard the news yet, The 1975 are officially back and better than ever in their newest album: Being Funny in a Foreign Language. The album was released on October 14, 2022, with its three singles, “Part of the Band,” “Happiness,” and “I’m In Love With You,” setting up the perfect pop-rock mix with raw instruments, peppy beats, and brilliant lyrics in the dense, sarcastic style the band is known for.
With the release of the fourth album, Notes On A Conditional Form, doing less than great in 2020, fans were worried that the band had officially gone off. The new music was drastically straying from their usual sound, and as much as I loved seeing the band experiment, as soon as I heard screamo burst through my earbuds, I just couldn’t deny that the new style wasn’t for me. After listening to their newest album, however, I can safely say that the revival of The 1975 is here, and I am so ready for it!! In preparation for their concert at Mohegan Sun this week, I decided to rate each song on Being Funny in a Foreign Language, and in doing so review the importance of love in a cynical world.
Just to preface, all of the songs in this album were exceptionally good, and rating them was honestly really difficult so take the rankings with a grain of salt!
11) Human Too
At the bottom of the list, we have “Human Too.” This is a slow-paced song that lyrically aims to dismantle the various beauty, social, and political standards that we place on ourselves and each other. It recognizes the importance of slowing down and taking it easy while recognizing that we are all just human beings after all. Although it holds a beautiful and very important message, this song ranked lowest on my list because I found it a bit eerie and unsettling, and the various pronunciations of the word “too” honestly threw me off as the song progressed.
10) I’m In Love with You
Second to last we have “I’m in Love with You.” This is an upbeat, presumably simple song that is in actuality quite symbolic for the band. In the little excerpt on Spotify, Matty explains how when writing the song, he kept trying to work in a line that disclaimed his love. Saying “I love you,” as simple as it seems, is something many people find great difficulty in, including Matty. However, in a world that is already so dark, it is a comforting phrase that can shine a light on all those stuck in the pit of cynicism. Unfortunately, it is also a phrase that is repeated a bit too much for my liking throughout the song, which although might hold deeper meaning, can become pretttty annoying after a while.
9) Looking For Somebody (To Love)
Next we have another upbeat song “Looking for Somebody (To Love.” To be honest, this was initially one of my favorite songs on the album. The lyrics and beat are super catchy and make you wanna dance. However, when further analyzing the meaning behind the song, I learned that it was about school shootings. Matty and the band were trying to explain the importance of love, as a lack of it could result in people doing horrible things. With such a serious topic, though, it felt odd enjoying the song as much as I did. It didn’t feel entirely respectful and considerate of those directly impacted, so I moved it down to ninth.
8) About You
At number eight we have “About You”. This song has a distorted, gothic sound that makes me almost feel like I’m listening to it underwater. It’s the perfect song for all those who dream about relationships instead of actually making a move (anyone else feeling called out here?) or those reminiscing about an old fling with lyrics like “we get married in our heads” and “I’ll miss you in the morning.” As much as I might relate to the song, though, I found it a bit too creepy and repetitive to put it any higher on the list.
7) Part of the Band
Coming up to the halfway point we have “Part of the Band”, a blunt, list-like song that acts as a journal for all of Matty’s thoughts and experiences. In one line he writes, “Am I ironically woke? The butt of my joke? Or am I just some post-coke, average, skinny bloke Calling his ego imagination?” The overall sound of the song is a bit discombobulated and lacks a basic rhythm, which I guess is how Matty sees his own mind. It’s definitely an interesting song and worth a listen but isn’t the best on the album.
6) Oh Caroline
Next on the list, we have the song “Oh Caroline.” This is the most pop-like song on the album, and I could 100% see it being played on the radio. Caroline represents a woman who left the narrator after he messed up, however, he is still infatuated with her and would do anything to make her come back. It screams desperation and attraction to the point of obsession, but I guess it could be cute if you ignore the obvious red flags. Overall, it’s a fun song that would be perfect to blast in the car with the windows down.
5) The 1975
Next, we have the album’s self-titled song, “The 1975.” This is the opener of the album, with the entire piece creating an eerie feeling of being on the edge of your seat. Lyrically, this is my favorite song on the album, with lines like “you’re making an aesthetic out of not doing well”, “minin’ all the bits of you you think you can sell”, and “I’m sorry if you’re living and you’re seventeen.” This song perfectly captures the issues of modern society and the pressure put on young kids today to fix the mess the world is currently in despite still being kids. By the song’s end, you might be feeling pretty horrible, but this sets up the rest of the album perfectly as the solution to all of this cynicism is love.
4) When We are Together
“When We Are Together” is another slow-paced song that has a very country-like sound. It’s the last song in the album, focusing on the comfort and happiness one feels when with another person despite being told that it is a toxic relationship full of racism and gaslighting that is bound to end. When listening, I like to think of it as an escape from all the horrible issues in the world such as climate change, police brutality, anti-abortion laws, etc. (These are all extremely important and need to be addressed, but can become overwhelming and almost suffocating when considered in their entirety.) Sometimes it’s okay to just take a step back, breathe, and focus on what makes you feel happy! After all, we are only human!
3) Wintering
Speeding things up, we have “Wintering” in our top three. This song is super fun, light-hearted, and ironically tells the joys of coming home for Christmas to a family that is less than “joyous.” It highlights the issues of bringing politics into family gatherings and how it always ends with an angry and divided group where neither party can just listen and respect what the other has to say. This is something I’m sure a lot of people have experienced during the holiday season, and as much as it sucks, at least we now have a song to dance to while it happens!
2) All I need to Hear
Now for our runner-up, we have “All I Need To Hear.” This is a jazzy, rhythmic song that highlights the one thing we all need to hear as human beings: I love you! We could have money, fame, intelligence… anything and everything… but it all means nothing if we don’t have love. It truly is a beautiful song that I could listen to over and over again.
1) Happiness
And finally, we have the single “Happiness” in the top spot! This song was beautifully written and produced, and I cannot get enough of it! One of my favorite lines shows up not in the lyrics themselves, but in the backup vocals: “I am happiest when I’m doing something that I know is good. That’s happiness to me.” Once again, Matty and the rest of the band have created a genius piece that should be playing on speakers, phones, radios… everywhere! It perfectly depicts the feeling one gets right after falling in love, which is exactly what we need when the world seems less than good.
So, next time you find yourself stuck on your phone worrying about your looks, grades, politics, current events, or any other issue with the world, take a second to step back and breathe. Maybe you can find a bit of humor in the chaos, or maybe even a bit of love, that can shine some light and guide you through. <3