The 1975 Are ‘All I Need To Hear’ On Latest Ballad

The band's latest is the most stripped-back effort from their upcoming fifth album.

Ever the epitomes of change, The 1975 aren’t tearing up their rulebook so much as they are just expanding what their rulebook allows. Their latest offerings, ‘Part of the Band’, ‘Happiness’ and ‘I’m In Love With You’, have seen the band abandon their usual high-octane productions and computerised vocals for a focus on live instruments and softer songwriting, with ‘All I Need To Hear’ following suit.

The soft and soulful ballad powered only by piano instrumentation with the odd flicker and string accompaniment scattered throughout serves as the perfect backdrop for frontman Matt Healy and his lovelorn-laced songwriting.

Healy has proven himself a sharp and capable songwriter — his often whimsical and electrifying take on the shortcomings of love, society, and his previous addiction issues, has undeniably been the most alluring quality of The 1975. ‘All I Need To Hear’ opts for soppy simplicity as he dismisses the need for friends and the “crowds and cheers”, and simply yearns to hear those three words from his distant lover, singing “When people are talking / I miss what they say / ’Cause it all means nothing, my dear / If I can’t be holding you near”.

Healy’s vocals are a striking highlight — unusually raw and soft, buttered smoothly over the almost-melancholic nature of the track. The group have always found ease in captivating and stimulating eardrums with their distinct ability to make a lot of noise - this time around, they succeed in making an emotionally stirring track without relying on their distinctive brand of over-the-top brilliance.

The 1975 have made a name for themselves with dizzying genre-hopping ventures, neon-soaked synths and stadium-filling yells on all things love, drugs, politics and narcissism. Their upcoming fifth record looks poised to be their most notable pivot in direction yet.

'Being Funny In A Foreign Language' is out October 14.

Brad Irish

@BradleyJIrish

Image: 'All I Need To Hear' Official Single Cover