Live Review: The 1975 @ The 3Arena

The rise and rise of The 1975 has been has been less of a subtle ascension and more of a world take-over type of thing.
That may be a touch on the superlative side but the Cheshire quartet’s brand of electro pop has earned them chart-topping success and a global tweenage fanbase that any boyband would be proud of. That said, the indie kids are not so easily put in that boyband shaped box. Their genre splicing music, lyrical street-cred and all-round authenticity has left many self-respecting music fans ditching their pre-conceived notions about what “good music” needs to be and declaring themselves fully fledged converts to the good news of Matty Healy and co.

First off, props must be given for a stage set-up that was something close to a K-pop inspired vending machine. Neon lighting and geometrical designs that wouldn’t have felt out of place in an eighties-themed Hello Kitty daydream induced the extremely pleasant feeling of being hypnotised. Or brainwashed....And maybe we were.

Matty Healy and his ensemble took over the stage with a fervour that was palpable. Monster hit ‘Love Me’ was the screeching guitar-laden invite that The 1975 offered us into their neon-lit world. The crowd took it with both hands.

From there we were taken on a merry-go-round journey that alternated between the inoffensive poppiness of their eponymous debut album to the irresistible ‘80s inspired electro beats of their sophomore opus.

The soft and slinky echoing beats of ‘A Change of Heart’, reminiscent of Hello Goodbye’s break-out song ‘Here (In Your Arms)’, saw the crowds crooning along with all the passion deserved of a love ballad.

“I haven’t been to bed, I’ve been up all night shooting the video for this song,” Matt informed the crowd in his Mancunian purr. Slugging from a wineglass under a dishevelled mop of dark hair, the frontman’s swagger is so rock-star-esque it tinges everything the band plays with an intoxicating promiscuity. Healy’s devil-may-care dancing, leather pants and ripped open shirt contributed to this hedonist cocktail in no small measure.

Meanwhile the electronic transitions and dreamy synths of songs like ‘Me’ were so thrumming with eighties energy that it actually felt like they were borrowing from the Drive soundtrack; a great compliment by any standard.

“There’s loads of shit things all the time. I know it sounds like I’m trivialising it but people are so horrible to each other,” Healy ruminates between songs, “We’re all so lucky to be here. So I’ll dedicate this next song to people who aren’t as lucky as we are.”

An explosive performance peppered with funky riffs and catchy choruses, The 1975 did not disappoint; better than that- they converted. ‘The Sound’ was the band’s fizzing encore; an unabashed piece of soultastic funk that will undoubtedly be ringing in the ears of those in attendance for days to come.

Our photographer Eva Murphy snapped some brilliant photos of the show last night. Check them out here.