The 1975 - Being Funny in a Foreign Language

Release Date:  October 14th, 2022

Of course I've heard "somebody else" and i did listen to their 3rd album, "It's Not Living (If It's Not with You)" is chef's kiss, but I'm still not familiar with them.

Review:  This album is thankfully a brisk 43 minutes. The opener was really good, it reminded me a bit of LCD Soundsystem's "all my friends" with the repeating piano notes. It just sounded like it was building towards something and progressively got louder and as an opener, I think it gave me a boner, but I can't really tell. That's a reference if you listened to the song. "Happiness" sounds good like it reminded me of what I heard on their 3rd album, very 80s smooth saxophone fun. Then "Looking for Somebody (to love) sounds like a carbon copy of whatever one hit wonder song from the 80s that i can't put a name to. It just sounds like a song you'll find in an 80s movie. Very inoffensive.

"Part of the Band" has more string instrumentals, but I'm beginning to feel tried of the way he sings. "Oh Caroline" starts with piano and it sounds really simple, but I like how simple the lyrics are. It just sounds good whenever they say that word, "caroline." It just gets bigger and bigger. "I'm In Love With You" feels like it's mimicking a hit song, and it sounds like it could have, but I don't think it's quite as sugary. Again, it fits in an 80s movie. "All I Need To Hear" slows things down.

"Wintering" sounds like it's suppose to be a hit song. "Human Too" slows things down. "About You" has backing vocals from Michelle Zauner. i don't know how i feel about it, it felt long and shoegazy. And the last song, "When We Are Together" sounds like a traditional acoustic pop rock song. I like how clear the vocals are here. Maybe a country vibe.

Summary:  This is tough, if you told me this band was terrible, I would understand, they sound so lovey dovey, but these guys keep getting good reviews from critics, but they don't feel like indie darlings. If their sound is to callback on 80s pop, they nailed it. I can recognize that these songs are not bad, but it's also very inoffensive. As a personal choice, I just don't want to listen to them.

Favorite Songs: The 1975, Oh Caroline, When We Are Together
Rating: 7/10