Review: Give Yourself A Try by the 1975
By Kariann Tan
It’s been a couple of years since The 1975’s glitzy entrance into the indie mainstream - wowing others and myself alike with their punchy riffs and vocalist Matty Healy’s memorable “lyrical slurring” as so often witnessed with their killer single “Chocolate”. Times have definitely changed since then, not just limited to the musical sphere however.
As such, it would make a lot of sense for the band’s sound to evolve. For better or worse, the decision is left completely up to fans and casual listeners. Here we are today, with the recent release of “Give Yourself A Try”, that signalled a distinct change when compared to the band’s previous lead singles. It’s quite hard to disagree with that notion when the change is quite literally sledgehammered into your ears with the indistinguishable guitar loop.
But I figured it would be best to start with the lyrics. The 1975 is a group relatively known for incorporating darkly poetic proses into their works. It has been one of their selling points ever since their rise to fame. Unfortunately in this track’s case, we fail to see the evolvement of the band’s efforts that we have seen in one of their shining tracks “Somebody Else” of their previous album, where the lyrics featured significant phrases such as:
I don’t want your body/But I’m picturing your body with somebody else
Our love has gone cold/You’re intertwining your soul with somebody else
It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly a deeply inciting lyric of that nature would be observed in “Give Yourself A Try”. I suppose it would be reasonable to argue that the song itself isn’t as forlorn as the aforementioned. However, for a band that has based itself on evolving with their sounds, the lyricism captured within this track is sort of a far cry from what it used to be. I’m still holding out hope for them though considering that this is just their first single, and as that is the case, reserving judgement for the rest of their releases is pretty much just a must-do at this point.
The track never feels like a crescendo of anything incredulous either, which I think serves as a redeeming factor above all else. It would have been a stretch to include a build up to something heavier amidst the guitar riff which was serving its purpose of dominating the song. It isn’t a bad thing per se - a track like this would most certainly work in a highway setting when you’re cruising down the roads at a faster than usual speed, or in your room when you are in the mood of head banging to something of beat. It would be even more of a stretch to expect something more from the band anyway, so maybe in all entirety, this is a record that people shouldn’t really be taken aback by.
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