The 1975 - i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it

The infectious grooves of 80′s pop has been making a comeback in modern pop lately, The 1975 jumping directly on the bandwagon and pioneering the rock front of it. With this year’s I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, the band has added more dimension to their music, but not enough to justify the annoyingly long runtime, much like its album title.

The first quarter of the album is the funkiest rock you’ll hear this year, as if indie met ‘Uptown Funk’. Sadly, the sound gets old fast. Right after the symphonic and disjointed intro named after the band, ‘The 1975′, that is just off-putting enough that it actually works comes the funk-filled single ‘Love Me’ that immediately gets the album to its foundations. The song is endearing in a feel-good kind of way, but after a listen or two it just gets annoying. The next song, ‘UGH!’, is just my reaction when the next four songs all sound the same. Things start to change after the Hiatus Kaiyote sounding track, ‘If I Believe You’, when sweet ambience topped with piano is brought to the field with ‘Please Be Naked’. The song introduces what the good moments on the album are: sweet, soft, and warm. After the following song ‘Lostinmyhead’, things start reverting back to the funk. Starting with the single ‘The Sound’, the funk gets good in ways (it has a great solo), but it’s far too along in the album for anything to be amazing. The closure track is the best song on the album - ‘She Lays Down’ is a barebones acoustic track featuring nothing but an acoustic guitar and vocalist Matthew Healy’s warm vocals over it, singing with a fond recollection in his disposition. The song just has an emotion to it that feels like a good, nostalgic memory, something that if was captured in the rest of the album instead of placing focus on the 80′s revivalism, would have made it a much more enjoyable listen. There were touches of this in the middle of the album with the brief symphonic and sweet tastes, but it never quite reached it.

The 1975 are funky, and if you grew up in the 80′s listening to pop or you’re just a sucker for the genre, this album is for you. If you’re looking for something that is consistently feel good in more ways than funk flair, this isn’t for you. I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It is just as it’s title says: so long, you stop caring before the end. Sadly, the most powerful moments come at the end when it’s far too late. Their next effort should look to capture the feeling better, combining it with their signature 80′s sound. That’ll be an experience.

Favorite Track: She Lays Down

Least Favorite Tracks: She’s American, UGH!, Change Of Heart

Rating: 5/10