The 1975 share new ethereal song ‘The Birthday Party’

Intimacy and hope are complicated concepts, and The 1975 know it well. The British band just released a new single ‘The Birthday Party’ and, let me tell you, it is something else.

With a beginning that has some slightly off-beat drums, reverberated guitar (reminiscent of The National) and a background ambient, also seen in ‘The Man Who Married A Robot’, the song has a promising start. “Hello, there’s a place I’ve been going, now I’m clean, it would seem…” Matty Healy opens up in the first line, delivering warm and soothing vocals, probably some of the best vocals he has ever delivered. The track, in general, is a mellow, calm ballad, but somehow it is so much more than that.

With a digital concept behind, a sort of detox centre from the Internet called Mind Shower, this track follows the band’s previous album’s, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, footsteps. ‘The Birthday Party’ is an inspired, grown, mature song that reflects perfectly The 1975’s talent. The production itself is pretty simple too, but the weight that Healy’s lyrics and the instrumental hold makes up for it, by grabbing the listener by the hand and entering their own unique dimension. This track doesn’t have a growth in terms of rhythm, but towards the end, it explodes in a beautiful, even if muffled, saxophone solo. It is pure art, magic.

“All your friends in one place – oh we’re a scene, whatever that means”

‘The Birthday Party’ carries many references to the lead singer’s personal life, but as he described, he wanted to picture – especially through the eccentric yet deep music video – how human beings still long for intimacy in this online world. The Internet can become toxic, this is why there is a subtle comparison with Healy’s past heroin addiction. People need to learn how to live and let live again, without worrying about their online identities. Hold each other, look at each other’s eyes, rely on your friends to keep yourself attached to reality, don’t forget to love.

“I depend on my friends to stay clean, as sad as it seems”

The 1975 have once again proven what a great band they are, showing off their versatility of genre, and keeping the level of their music high and intellectually important. Their fourth album – Notes on a Conditional Form – is due to be released in April and, if this is the path it’s following, we can’t help but have extraordinary expectations: it will be an album about life, an album about love, an album about Matty Healy’s mind and a socially invested project, a mirror of a society that is slowly slipping into decay. But songs like this? Songs like this help the world keep it together.