- Culture
- 14 Feb 22
Having wiped their social media accounts, are The 1975 about to release new music?
The 1975 have been teasing their follow up to 2019's Notes On A Conditional Form since last year after cancelling their gigs.
The 1975 have hinted at the release of new music by deleting all of their social media accounts and wiping their official website.
Cryptic as ever, the genre-bending group have used the disappearing act to tease new material for their past three LPs – 2019's Notes on A Conditional Form, 2018's A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, and their sophomore album I Love It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It.
Over the last few months, frontman Matty Healy has referenced the group's fifth studio album on his Instagram account.
In January, the Cheshire-born singer shared a black and white rehearsal video with the caption "Part 5, Day 1." In similar form, Healy posted an image in August saying: "Making another classic record."
View this post on Instagram
To further drive up fan expectations, the band's manager Jamie Oborne of Dirty Hit Records took to Twitter to say: "I wish I could play you guys the new record. It's so beautiful."
I wish I could play you guys the new record. It’s so beautiful. : ) x
— Jamie Oborne (@jamieoborne) February 13, 2022
Content from The 1975 has been relatively scarce since Notes On A Conditional Form (NOACF) was released. In February 2021, Healy announced a re-focus on the outfit's original moniker, Drive Like I Do, resulting in one EP, Scary Monsters.
The group cancelled all of their 2021 gigs – including nights at London's Finsbury Park and San Francisco's Golden Gate Park – in light of COVID-19 concerns. Healy and co. promised fans they would be using the time off to focus on their next full length album, which they seem to have fulfilled.
Despite laying low on the group front, Healy made a surprise guest appearance at indie-pop singer Phoebe Bridgers' Los Angeles gig last October. Healy acted as the opener for the night, performing a few 1975 hits and his duet with Bridgers from NOACF 'Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America'.
Hot Press' Paul Nolan gave a rousing review of the 1975's latest major release:
"Healy’s ambition was to create an album that captured the feel of driving around Britain’s motorways at night, with the odd stop-off at McDonalds. To underpin the dystopian themes, the album would draw on underground electronic music, particularly the pioneering Hyperdub label. Healy has succeeded spectacularly in his objective: with NOACF, he has created a second consecutive classic that blows his contemporaries out of the water," Nolan wrote.
Revisit the Hot Press review of the 1975's Notes On A Conditional Form, here.
