The term “classic” is often thrown around when it comes to music. The truth is that something being “classic” is subjective, just like music in and of itself. That’s why in my column, “Carter’s Classics”, I will be diving into projects that some people don’t necessarily consider bona fide classics, but ones that I believe everyone should check out. Each edition, I will review a classic album that is celebrating its anniversary that week. This week’s project is The 1975’s “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it”.
The 1975 is a band that feels like they are always in the headlines, largely thanks to their frontman, Matty Healy. Healy, over the past five years, has received a lot of backlash because of his past racist and sexist remarks. Also in those past five years, Healy dated and broke up with international superstar Taylor Swift, who has since put him under fire in numerous songs such as “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “Fortnight”.
Before all of this, though, The 1975 were the quintessential pop-rock band. Their self-titled debut album set the standard for pop rock music in the 2010s, with tracks like “Robbers” and “Chocolate” helping to aid the project go 3x Platinum in the United Kingdom.
Following its release, the band would then stay quiet for the next year and a half before their Twitter accounts were deleted, leading to mass speculation they had broken up. However, immediately following, they would release their single “Love Me”.
This is where the “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” era begins.
“Love Me” was an interesting way to introduce the project to their fans – it’s a spunky baseline that accompanies lyrics discussing a rise to fame in a narcissistic way that is authentically Matty Healy. What sticks out to me about this project is how the songs vary both sonically and contextually. A song like “Love Me” officially opens up the project, but some thirty-or-so minutes later, they are tapping into more emotional tracks like “Somebody Else”.
This versatility is what defines The 1975, along with the electropop undertones of their music. These undertones are a defining factor of the project, more so than any of their other projects, with practically every project utilizing elements of electronic music to encapsulate their sound. It’s no surprise that The 1975 cited Boards of Canada as one of their influences when working on “I like it when you sleep…”, since half the tracks on the project almost feel like a pop song sung over a track straight out of Boards of Canada’s “Music Has The Right To Children”.
This is extremely visible through both the album’s intro track and title track, in which listeners get to see the complete vision of the project, before it fully dives into everything.
The album’s hit track, “She’s American”, is one of the most fun songs I’ve ever heard. Combined with the upbeat nature of The 1975’s music and the emotive nature of Healy’s vocals, the track navigates British stereotypes somewhat easily while making one of the most danceable songs in their entire discography. This range, from songs like the title track to others like “She’s American”, is what makes the band so unique in the realm of indie rock and pop-rock music.
That’s why I’m labeling “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” as a classic – it has a sound and vibe that is so true and authentic to its time. It cemented The 1975 as not just a one-album wonder, but a mainstay in the indie rock sphere and a pop act to be reckoned with all at the same time. So while it may not be usually referred to as a classic, “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” is a project that will be marked as a crossroads between the indie music landscape and our current pop music climate.