The 1975 is an English pop rock band. Their new album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships gives an insightful look at love and morality in our modern society. It delves deep into personal themes like loneliness and self-reflection along with bigger themes concerning society as a whole and the role the internet plays in our lives.
The album explores the idea that the internet has become the center of people’s lives and identities. People turn to the internet for entertainment, to find relationships, and for acceptance. They argue that because people’s identities have become tied strongly to our presence on social media it has made a society of incredibly insecure people.
“The Man Who Married a Robot/ Love Theme” is a unique track on the album because it’s actually not a song; it’s a poem narrated by Siri. It tells the story of a lonely man who was best friends with the internet and took it everywhere he went. The man valued the internet above anyone else in his life because it gave him the illusion of connection to other people. He didn’t need anyone else because the internet entertained him and “always, always agreed with him”. He has a deep connection with the internet that leads him to put his entire being online. He then dies in his house all alone because he had been so infatuated with his “best friend” that he didn’t have the chance to connect to anyone in the real world.
This song continues the theme of the internet giving a false sense of connection while disconnecting them from reality.
They also reference current events in a sort of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” style. The song “Love It If We Made It” references hot social topics like Kaepernick, police brutality, fossil fuels, Kanye and Donald Trump. “Modernity has failed us” is a theme throughout the song as well as the rest of the album.
Along with the important themes of the album, the band has developed a unique electropop sound to match the internet theme. The style they’ve chosen fits very well with the message of the album.
The 1975 has asserted itself as a talented band before but their new album puts them on another level entirely.
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