Artist: The 1975
Title: DH00278
Label: Dirty Hit
Released: December 14, 2017
Rating: 4 out of 5
Since the release of their second album in February 2016, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, The 1975 have been touring relentlessly across the world to show their love to fans.
As an early Christmas gift, The 1975 have released their first live album DH00278 this past Thursday. The album’s live recording was from the sold out show at The O2 in London, England. The show was part of the band’s December 2016 UK Tour, a set of seven shows with opener The Japanese House.
A year after the show at one of the world’s most famous venues, The 1975 have given fans the access to the excellent live show supporting their touring album to listen to whenever and wherever they want.
The 24-track album is a great mix of the band’s singles off their first and second albums. The live album starts off with the guys setting off the night with their self-titled track, “The 1975” before going into their catchy 80s-pop “Love Me.”
The album’s high point is when the guys set up into an atmospheric “An Encounter” seeping into a heart-wrenching “Robbers.” The ending of the track perfectly features the way the band emotionally captivates an audience, ending the song with 20,000 fans singing the ending lyrics, “Babe, you look so cool.”
To calm things down a bit, the band goes into their seven-minute instrumental delivery of “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” before hyping up the crowd again into “M.O.N.E.Y.”
What makes this show special is when the band goes into a performance of “Milk,” a somewhat-secret song gem that isn’t often played at shows. The original song was added to the ending of “You,” and is a fan-favorite that comes around just every so often.
As the guys were falling into the second half of their show, you could tell the order of the songs were placed in a particular order. The band started into their love-struck “Paris” before going straight into their teasing pop single “Girls” leading into their garage-punk “Sex.” What better way to end that little song flow with their slow and jazzy “Medicine”?
A striking, soulful performance of “If I Believe You” comes after, the saxophone riffs closing off the bluesy track, leading into their classic “Chocolate.” As the first song I personally heard from them a good four years ago on MTV, the track stands a key element of branding the band no matter how much their sound changes over the years.
A celebration anthem of “The Sound” closes DH00278, adding the finishing touches to a killer show. The album is out on almost all streaming platforms and is definitely not the last live album we’ll be getting from these guys.
I’m very satisfied that The 1975 finally released a live album. You can truly hear the band’s passion behind their music at a live show when they are in front of all of their fans and in the moment of creating a safe space to get lost in the music. I hope to see more indie, alternative-rock bands releasing more live music albums as the music scene continues to grow and develop each year.
The 1975 is also anticipating the release of their third studio album, Music For Cars, which shares the name of the band’s third EP that was released back in March 2013. The release date for their upcoming album has not been determined yet, but keep your eyes open for the next coming weeks into 2018!
*Photo by Burak Cingi/Redfurns