RETRO REVIEW: The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form

Everything, everywhere, all at once, as always.

May 24, 2025

I’ve been writing reviews of music for several years now, and as I get back into writing regularly, I thought I could repost some of my favorite reviews I’ve written here. The 1975 have always tried to be everything for everyone, and they came pretty close on the oft-delayed but worth-the-wait Notes On A Conditional Form back in 2020, which turned 5 years old yesterday. You can find the original review on my AOTY account here, one I definitely wrote while sick with COVID-19, so if things don’t read right, that’s probably why.

The bigger The 1975 have gotten, the more they’ve seemingly embraced the title of “voice of the millennials”. Matty Healy and company’s efforts get bigger and bigger with each successive album, and Notes On A Conditional Form is no different. A whopping 22 songs in length, not only is it their longest album ever, but also their most musically diverse. Their attempts to encompass an entire generation have led them to new styles like country, hardcore punk, and even a bit of rapping. And for as much as I was terrified of the end product this combination could lead to, the final product turns out remarkably well. Once you get past the rough first part of the record, you’re treated to some of The 1975’s best material ever.

Unfortunately, NOACF doesn’t have a terribly strong start. Outside of the previously released “People” and “Frail State Of Mind”, the first 8 tracks are a true slog. “The 1975” features an overly long instrumental and an overly long monologue from Greta Thunberg. Her intent is obviously positive but it’s obnoxiously wordy, and easily could’ve been cut in half and gotten the same effect. The airy interludes “The End (Music For Cars)” and “Streaming” also seem pointless/misplaced, if not bad on the ears. Why are we getting interludes this early into an album that’s still got almost 20 songs left? Equally forgettable are the shoegaze-inspired “Yeah I Know” and EDM-bait “Then Because She Goes”. They’re half-finished ideas that never fully develop into anything memorable. “The Birthday Party” is a nondescript indie track that leaves me with little else to say. If this was all you heard from NOACF, you’d be forgiven to think it’s all a dud.

Thankfully the band treks on, and once the tracklist hits “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America”, NOACF starts to soar. That song is a beautiful indie ballad with a welcome feature from Phoebe Bridgers. It touches on religion and homosexuality in a way that doesn’t come across as obnoxious, an incredible feat in 2020. What follows are explorations into many things you’ve never heard The 1975 try before. They do country pop a service on the unexpectedly enjoyable “Roadkill”. EDM-ready bangers are produced on “Shiny Collarbone”, “Having No Head” and “What Should I Say”. They kill more conventional indie pop tracks like “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” and “Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)”. The latter’s sample of old soul music and drum patterns reminds me of The Avalanches, while the former has an epic sax solo you’re bound to love. Matty even raps a bit on “Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied”, a sort of lounge pop rap song that sounds terrible yet isn’t. He also brings in his dad for a wonderful ballad in "Don't Worry". So much is going on in style and sound, yet after a certain point nothing sounds out of place.

Lyrically the album doesn’t approach the climactic political or relationship drama of A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. Rather, in tandem with the variety of genres, Matty’s thoughts are all over the place. He muses about everything from cyber sex to if he’ll get divorced when he’s old to how much he loves his bandmates. He’s a man always trying to voice himself for everyone, but his innermost fantasies and desires give NOACF some of its strongest lyrical moments. “Me & You Together Song”, a jangly Britpop highlight, finds joy in simply being together with someone you love. He mentions his bandmates often, and the closer “Guys” is a tribute to how much better his life is with the boys in tow. “Playing On My Mind” might be the most pretentious song here, yet his observations on friends of friends and their strange views on life are genuinely him. His attitude and opinions have naturally rubbed many people the wrong way, but here he’s able to be himself, and that’s when he’s at his best.

I really came to like NOACF. It’s not perfect, and the beginning is poorly constructed and largely unnecessary, but the band’s tremendous talent takes the record out of the mud and into the sky. Other bands wouldn’t dare try so many styles in one go round, but The 1975 do it with a reckless abandon that helps them succeed. That reckless abandon really is their calling card, vaulting forward into an uncertain world along with the rest of us. If this ends up being the soundtrack, I won’t find it a bad thing.

Verdict: 8.1/10