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On Notes On A Conditional Form, The 1975 create a self-indulgent, sprawling mess, but it’s a mess that kind of works.

Notes On A Conditional Form
(Notes On A Conditional Form is the fourth studio album by British band The 1975.)

To start this review out, I figured I’d correct some things from my review of the 1975’s previous record, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. In my review, I mentioned how I was not a fan of their previous work. After finishing that review, I revisited their first two albums, and though I still don’t think they're great, they are passable new wave records with emo tendencies and have some great songs. I still think A Brief Inquiry is leaps and bounds ahead of those two in terms of quality though, and my anticipation for their followup was through the roof, especially after multiple delays and loving most of the teaser tracks. But there was one thing that scared me: could they pull off a consistently enjoyable and cohesive record, even with 22 tracks? The answer is: well, kind of.
The record overall is by far the 1975’s most stylistically diverse and experimental record yet, with genres from punk to country to UK garage. The song “People”, which was easily my favorite single from last year, kicks off the album with an immediate left turn in terms of style for the band. The industrial rock-influenced dance-punk number covers a range of topics, from climate chance to human extinction, but the main draw of the song is its unabashed rage and energy. The band also gives a modern twist to early 2000s pop rock on the incredibly catchy “Me & You Together Song” and “Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy),” strips back the instrumentation and lets Matty Healy’s songwriting take center on the emo-tinged folk "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" and "Playing on My Mind," makes some sleek new wave revival on “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know),” and amalgamates various genres including hip-hop, jazz, and soul on "Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied."
The group also experiments with various forms of electronic music, such as UK garage and dance, on songs like "Frail State of Mind," "Yeah I Know," and "I Think There's Something You Should Know," and drummer and producer George Daniel gets his chance to shine on the instrumentals "Shiny Collarbone" and "Having No Head." Speaking of George Daniel, the production throughout the project is consistently fantastic, which, considering the range of different genres, is extremely impressive.
Despite all of these great tracks, this album is far from perfect. It does not need to be nearly as long as its 80 minute runtime, and the record’s lack of cohesion results in a tracklist that feels like it's meandering through multiple disconnected ideas and genres instead of acting as a solid unit. The first five tracks contain two pointless orchestral ambient interludes, and the opener is (for some reason) a five-minute climate change speech narrated by Greta Thunburg. Now, I have no problem with Greta or trying to spread climate change awareness, in fact I think it is great that the band is shining a light on these topics, but the last thing I want to listen to during an album is a preachy sermon about a certain topic, especially when that topic is touched on in a much better fashion in the immediate next song, “People.”
There are also various tracks on here that are either underdeveloped or contain ideas that are explored better on the record already. One of the main examples of this is “Roadkill,” the band’s attempt at a country rock track. Besides the song’s f-slur controversy, because Healy seems to enjoy getting Twitter angry from time to time, the song is just boring and not nearly as good as “The Birthday Party,” the band’s much better attempt at fusing country elements into their sound. There’s also the duo of “What Should I Say” and “Bagsy Not In Net” near the tail end of the album. The former is admittedly pretty catchy, and I like the tune, but I feel it slightly overstays its welcome. The latter is an odd, reverb-drenched art pop trip, which on top of being boring, suffers the same blatant abuse of vocal effects that affected various tracks on A Brief Inquiry. 
Overall, though, I think this album is pretty good, and a worthy followup to A Brief Inquiry, even if it was a little disappointing. The great songs on this record are truly great, some of them being some of my favorite material I’ve heard this year, let alone from the band. But unfortunately, the album still suffers from the problems many bloated albums do, such as a lack of cohesion and underdeveloped filler tracks. I am giving Notes On A Conditional Form a...

7/10

Favorite Tracks: People, Frail State of Mind, The Birthday Party, Yeah I Know, Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America, Me & You Together Song, I Think There's Something You Should Know, Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied, Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy), Shiny Collarbone, If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know), Playing On My Mind, Having No Head

Least Favorite(s): The 1975, Roadkill, Bagsy Not In Net


The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form | 2020 | Art Pop, Pop Rock, Electronic, UK Garage, Post-Emo | Dirty Hit

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