The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It

Amid rumours that the band was breaking up after producing only one album, The 1975 is back and reinvented. The latest and second studio album by the British rockers, I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It, debuted at number one, both in the UK and in the US. Producing a combination of bold 80s funk and pop, romantic piano ballads, slow jams with a hint of gospel, country rock, folk and shoegaze dream-pop, The 1975 has proven its versatility. The record covers subjects from love, religion, grief and drugs to selfie narcissism; inspired by artists such as Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, SWV, Destiny’s Child, and Gary Numan, it does it all.

Most of the songs on the album are effective. Love Me is an offbeat pop tune about fame and narcissism, in which Healy discourages obsession from his fans. With a strong beat and eloquent guitar licks, it channels Gary Numan techno and Duran Duran synthpop. If I Believe You projects a soulful gospel sound, whereas Please Be Naked echoes Brian Eno with a dash of Bollywood. This Must Be My Dream, an upbeat 80s-style tune with saxophone and chorus vocals, though very danceable, is not outstanding, but the energetic pulse of the R’n’B funk UGH, about addiction, is rousing and effective. Similarly emotive in terms of subject matter is She Lays Down, a ballad about Healy’s mother’s post-natal depression that has a touch of country rock and acoustic folk. The longest track gives the album its title: I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It is purely instrumental and emotionally powerful.

Lead singer Matt Healy calls this record a post-modern project, an ironic critique of fame and drugs, among other things, but in truth it is not that cutting edge. Nonetheless, The 1975 does manage to impress, perhaps partly due to the singer’s rock star charisma. And despite being clichéd, his observations about the culture of celebrity and its pitfalls are on point. The album is not groundbreaking, but rather a collection of mostly excellent pop songs with interesting lyrics. As an eclectic, enjoyable experience, I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It delivers.

Catherine Sedgwick

I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It is released on 26^th February 2016, for further information or to order the album visit here.

Watch the video for Love Me here: