recently, the increasingly popular band, the 1975, released their sophomore album in the form of "i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it". after their phenomenally well received first album, they had a lot to live up to. and live up to it, it did.
debuting at number one in both the uk and us, 'i like it when you sleep' has the familiar guitar riffs and pretentious lyrics that have come to be associated with the band. and despite how it may seem, that isn't a bad thing.
from the very first song, a recreation of the opening track of their self titled first album, i knew i would love it- i think my gasp upon hearing the oh so familiar 'step into your skin? i'd rather jump in your bones' line was a tell tale sign of my forthcoming love for the album.
it then launches straight into to their initial single from the album, 'love me'. to begin with, i wasn't actually that keen on this song to be honest. however, in november i was lucky enough to see the band live on their uk tour, and from that moment onwards i loved it- it's endlessly catchy and undeniably good.
speaking of their tour, it was upon this that they debuted some songs from their latest album- namely 'she's american', 'a change of heart', 'somebody else' and 'the sound'. these are undoubtedly some of the highlights of the album, which is most likely why they chose to perform those pre-album release. instantaneously, they had a positive response, with the crowd picking up the words and joining in without hesitation.
in terms of standout songs, i would definitely throw 'she lays down' in there- with it's peaceful acoustic guitar and the soft vocals, it's exceptionally raw and emotive, and generally quite calming, in effect. 'somebody else' also has to be one of the standout songs- it's infinitely catchy, as per most songs by the 1975, whilst still being quite different to their usual songs.
on a whole, i would definitely consider this a really well done follow up to their first album. with starkly different songs from the energetic, upbeat 'ugh!' to the soothing, sleepy 'nana', it's a mish-mash of different styles of song, all with that same, distinctive the 1975 vibe. it's definitely a worthy investment, but you can also find it on spotify- go listen!
neive xx
