It started with a cryptic message,
typed up in white text on a black background. “THE 1975 A BRIEF INQUIRY INTO ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS.” The mysterious post, which was published on, April 29th by The 1975 on the band’s Twitter and Instagram pages, has a subheading that reads, “If I don’t get to see the beauty of the end of culture, then at least I’ve seen the culture of the end of beauty.” What follows is a paragraph, formatted in the style of an article, (or a song?) on the topic of communication in today’s social media landscape.
On May 1st, another curious post appeared. This time of the word, “hello” inside a grey rectangle that calls to mind images of iPhone advertisements.
On May 3rd, the Manchester Indie Rock group posted the same headings, this time above an image of several teens sitting in an art museum, staring down at their phones, missing the beautiful art around them.
On Friday, May 4th, the series continued with an image of a young girl wearing a virtual reality headset, underneath the caption: “MODERNITY HAS FAILED US.” Giving little away, but insinuating plenty, the messages have sent theorists scrambling for answers as to what the posts say about The 1975’s upcoming album, A Brief Inquiry…
The 1975 recently launched a countdown clock on their website, set to reach zero on June 1st, indicating release date for new music. The band’s front man, Matthew Healy, has also hinted at June 1st as a release date in the past.
Behind the clock, images of various pop culture events and icons flash by, while instrumental music plays. Combined with the band’s previous posts, the clock design hints at an album that will take a hard look at how people use social media today.
The 1975 have always aimed to question societal norms and send messages that permeate beyond the world of music. On their 2016 hit, “Love Me,” Healy mocks the frivolity of the modern celebrity with biting lyrics like, “You look famous, let’s be friends and portray we possess something important.”
Since their self-titled album debuted in 2013, The 1975 have enjoyed success in both native England and the U.S, praised for Healy’s brilliant lyricism and the band’s ambitious and versatile synth pop sound.
Before they were The 1975, Healy, George Daniel (drums), Adam Hann (guitar), and Ross MacDonald (bass), were known as, Drive Like I Do. The group covered bands like Fall Out Boy before becoming The 1975.
Instead of fading away, Drive Like I Do, has remained a lesser-known side project for the band. Healy has assured fans that the debut album from Drive will be released “in the coming few years.”
The band’s manager Jamie Oborne has hinted that the band will announce new tour dates in August. New sounds from The 1975 may be reaching audiences in the U.K and U.S by this October.
For more information regarding the upcoming album, read here!
