Indie-pop band The 1975 (“I’m In Love With You”) released their fifth studio album “Being Funny In A Foreign Language,” returning with all of the genre blending sounds we have come to expect from them. The album was originally teased in the beginning of June from a post by the band on Instagram. They then released four singles off of the album, including “Happiness,” and “I’m in Love with you.” 

From the very first track of the album, fans are shown that it has been put together differently compared to past projects. Not only does the album have less tracks and a shorter runtime than any of their previous releases, but the band has again changed their title track. The 1975 have previously set a standard of beginning their albums with a title track containing the same lyrics, but with revamped sound to give the listeners a window into what they should expect in the album they are about to listen to. That is, until “Notes On A Conditional Form,” as well as the new album “Being Funny In A Foreign Language.” 

For longtime listeners of The 1975, particularly interesting additions to the album are the tracks  “I’m In Love With You,” and “About you.” The reason for this is that the two songs were created as musical continuations of their past songs “Robbers,” and “A Change Of Heart.”

Similar to what we have seen on previous releases from the band such as “I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It,” instrumentation is all over the place, blending sounds from several different genres of music together that sound unexpectedly perfect together. Since their debut album “The 1975” nearly a decade ago, the group have shown listeners that they want each of their albums to change and develop along with each one of them. Age, experiences and the life they are leading are all factors on how and what their albums will sound like, creating a new, authentic feel upon each release. Due to this, The 1975 is a band particularly hard to put into a singular genre category.

Matt Healy, the lead vocalist has never been one to hold back what he has to say. He provides the listeners with sarcastic,  uncensored, at times even bizarre commentary and that aspect remains unchanged throughout this album. In doing this, Healy is able to capture so many of the emotions that are held in younger generations about topics ranging from political, to relationship issues in a way that few artists can. In a way, this became part of the band’s charm, and this album is full of it.

On this release, the most apparent theme is undoubtedly love, with a majority of the 11 tracks revolving around it. The manner in which he speaks about this shifts from track to track to keep the album from sounding repetitive, but the theme is nonetheless heard clearly.

After the experimental  2020 release of “Notes On A Conditional Form,” which received mixed reviews, this was a breath of fresh air from The 1975. From tracks that felt reminiscent of what made fans fall in love with the band in the first place, to creating entirely new sounds with beautiful vocals and melodies to them, “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” is a fantastic listen. 

Image from The 1975 via YouTube