Being Funny In a Foreign Language: A Review
October saw the release of a plethora of album releases, and among these was The 1975, with Being Funny In a Foreign Language, which looks at a range of issues including substance abuse, family dynamics, relationships, society and social media pressure. This album simultaneously strays from their pretentiousness of the past while also drawing on the sounds that made them who they are today. I felt like this album was almost a redefining of who they want to be. Stripping back the senselessness of lyricism in recent albums, and looking inward, creating music that speaks of lived experience, feels authentic to the band and doesn’t stray from sensitive topics.
Matty Healy (lead singer) stated that “this is the first time that we’ve been really good artists and really good producers and grown men at the same time… it was the right time for this album to not just reaffirm, but almost celebrate who we are. It was a self-analysis and then a reinvention.” (Matty Healy for Apple Music) I think this concept really comes through in this album, not only through the lyricism but through the production and album structure.
As always, the band opened the album with a self-titled track, ‘The 1975.’ I was stunned by this introduction. An honest reflection on our generation and living and growing in the 2000s. This felt like it was written for the fans who grew up with the band. This commentary on society was something we have seen before, and though ever-so-slightly pretentious at times, that is exactly what I expected from The 1975. I thought it was a beautiful start to the album and the instrumental backdrop to the self-titled track felt like it embodied the album as a whole. The lyricism suggested the purpose of the album, with Matty apologising for his twenties, referencing the struggles he was going through mentally and physically at the time of previous albums.
Two upbeat, danceable tracks follow, ‘Happiness’ which the band had already released, and ‘Looking For Somebody (To Love).’ Both of these songs are high-energy, fun tracks, with Happiness featuring saxophone solos in the introduction, setting a precedent to the joy of the chorus. Similarly, ‘Looking For Somebody (To Love)’ gives listeners an 80s dance track style introduction, with heavy synths and speedy lyrics, this is another song on the album which had me wanting to dance around my room. With such a promising introduction I was hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed further on.
‘Part of the Band’ was the first single they released on the lead-up to the album, this song for me was all about the lyricism. The song itself is fantastic, but I think the way Matty Healy is completely transparent, talking of his ‘heroin binges’ and how he ‘was coming off the hinges’ makes the artist feel real and human. It’s reassuring to see someone I grew up with, finally healing. ‘Oh Caroline’ takes us back to this jazzy, upbeat danceable energy they created initially. Which the following track, and one of my favourites, ‘I’m In Love With You’ also achieves. This song was another which was released as a single, and it made me feel incredibly hopeful for this era of their music and it did not disappoint in the context of the album. The final single they released was the 7th track on their album, All I Need To Hear’ which I felt took listeners back to some of their earlier music and original sound. This song was nostalgic for me, and I felt like it tied into the album and its intentions as well.
Wintering, the 8th track on the album is a funny commentary piece in which I feel like the band’s personality comes through. They talk about Christmas and the political discussions that happen at the time of year when the whole family get together, one lyric which I feel most of us can relate to is, ‘I just came for the stuffing, not to argue about nothing.’ As the album ends, the emotions of the album start to seep their way in. The final songs are three heart-wrenching pieces, filled with beautiful lyrics that remind listeners why we fell in love with the band.
‘Human too’, is a slow piece, that feels like a warm hug amid high-energy tracks, and it’s needed. It prepares us for the closing tracks which will inevitably have you holding back tears. The penultimate song is another favourite of mine, ‘About You.’ This track has also blown up on TikTok and Instagram, listeners share a love for the iconic bridge in the song where Adam Hann’s (lead guitarist) wife features. To me, ‘About You’ is the sibling of ‘Robbers’ from their first album. It’s simple, yet heartfelt lyricism, the dramatic layering of instruments, echoed vocals and storytelling in short yet beautiful verses. This song comes across as the band remembering what made them, and they’re playing homage to that feeling.
The final track ‘When We Are Together’ ties the whole album together in a beautiful way. The song not only tells a story of his relationship, but it also looks inward, at the mistakes he has made and the ways he regrets treating others and the acknowledgement that the ‘only time [he] feel[s] [he] might get better, is when we are together.’ The song feels like closure on an album which explores every emotion, and every fear and looks at the complications of addiction. The final moments of the song, and the album as a whole, filter out the instruments one by one until we are left with nothing but record-like static which cuts off abruptly.
This is one of the best albums the band has put out to date. From the societal commentary to the comical lyricism and the transparency from Matty Healy in his dealings with drug abuse and mental health, this album is exactly what I expected and more. It is one that has been on repeat since its release, and I am now even more excited than before for their UK tour.
Being Funny In A Foreign Language is out all all streaming platforms now.