“It is time to rebel,” concludes the renowned activist Greta Thunberg, in a speech quoted in the foreword to Notes on a Conditional Form. The 1975 started off on a high note, with a punk-rock feel and… we’re already elsewhere. Bifurcations, 180-degree turns, disjunctions, crossovers and superimpositions characterize this fourth studio album, admired by some, despised by others. Based in Manchester, the English band has made its mark by mastering an impressive variety of pop from other, more established styles. From punk to soul-pop, modern film orchestrations, country, housy pop, power-pop with grunge accents, orchestral indie folk, FM pop, and more. For the most part, the imitations are perfect and illustrate the very strong pop culture of their performers – Mathew Healy, guitars and vocals, Adam Hann, guitars, Ross MacDonald, bass, George Daniel, drums – not to mention their collaborators FKA Twigs, Phoebe Bridgers, Tim Healy, and Cutty Ranks. Rather than covering Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Sufjan Stevens, The Weeknd, Michael Jackson, Green Day, Hans Zimmer, Phil Collins, Diplo, and Skrillex in turn, The 1975 composes in the manner of their influences without deviating from them one iota, without adding any particular touch. The band’s personality consists of a kind of stylistic leapfrogging, that’s the difference between this band and a very good cover band. This is also further proof that you can embrace pop, rock, soul and electro cultures at the same time. What’s up? When does a big hug become a strangling headlock? Are we witnessing the deployment of an unpredictable, eclectic know-how of highly predictable music?
Latest 360 Content
Interview Classical/classique
Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story
By Marilyn Bouchard
Concert review Classical/classique
“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember
By Marilyn Bouchard
Concert review Électro/euro-disco
Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT
By Loic Minty
Dossier
Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial
By Stephan Boissonneault
Album review classique/Sacred Music/Latino/Classical/Pop 2025
Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
By Stephan Boissonneault
Album review Experimental / Contemporary/expérimental / contemporain/Rock/psych 2025
Grails – Miracle Music
By Stephan Boissonneault
Album review Electronic/Indigenous peoples 2025
The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face
By Stephan Boissonneault
Interview Classical/classique
A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season
By Frédéric Cardin
Concert review classique/Classical/Traditional
The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time
By Judith Hamel
Concert review Classical/classique
Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season
By Frédéric Cardin
Album review art rock/Pop/Rock/électro-indie/Electronic 2025
Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film
By Stephan Boissonneault
Interview expérimental / contemporain/Classical/classique
SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock
By Alain Brunet
Album review Classical/classique 2025