When people think ofThe 1975, “Chocolate” has become a point of notoriety, achieving meme-like status due to its famously intelligible lyrics. The 1975 have acknowledged themselves with good humor, with intentionally misspelled, phonetically accurate lyrics being a backdropwithin the band’s Glastonbury set. Don’t get me wrong, “Chocolate” is catchy, but since thenthe band has become known for their postmodern approach to pop, making commentaries on society through meta-levels of irony and toying with notions of sincerity. Breaking this pattern, The 1975 has one song that submits to this to show their truly vulnerable side with no games. “Guys” is the closing track fromNotes On A Conditional Form,and is a platonic love song.Matty Healyplays no tricks. He’s talking with his friends, and not confronting the world about what’s wrong with it,showing how moving The 1975 can be.
A Confessional Song of Friendship
In an unusual take for The 1975, “Guys” is a gentle and unassuming track. The song doesn’t demand attention, like their previous overwhelming hits of “The Sound” and “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You).” For a band that’s well-known for deconstructing pop tropes and replacing them with meta-commentary and irony,“Guys” is surprisingly conventional for The 1975. The song is simply constructed, with a soft guitar melody and an uncomplicated vocal line which forms a smaller, more intimate listening space. “Guys” skips any overblown drama and complexities of a typical 1975 love song polluted with tension, and just gets to the point of appreciating platonic relationships.
From the very beginning, the lyrics of the song are plainspoken, complementing the more simplistic arrangement. “Guys” is a realization from the perspective of frontman Matty Healythat he misses his bandmates after spending so much time with them, and reminisces about memories of touring, and even the moment they started a band. Healy comes to terms with the idea that “you guys are the best thing that ever happened to me,” the guys in question being his bandmates.The song is a dreamy take on the duality of achievement from finding huge success in the band, like “the first time we went to Japan,” and also the emotional success in keeping a good relationship through the chaos.
In an increasingly digital world, feelings of alienation and isolation are also increasing. Vulnerability is scary and often stigmatized, but Healy goes for it in this song, which is seemingly uncharacteristic. This feels particularly stringent considering his persona’sambiguous stance on sincerity and the authentic self, and whether they can ever actually exist.But “Guys,” in conjunction with the band’s typical endless inception of sincerity, works toward the same message that there needs to be a disruption to the overwhelming sense of the internet and its darker, inhuman consequences.
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A Fitting Resolution to an Album Full of Theories
Notes On A Conditional Formis a peculiar album. It’s a genre-hopping record that flits between anarcho-punk in “People,” pop rock in “Me & You Together Song,” and an exploration of deep house in “Shiny Collarbone.” In being the concluding track of the album,“Guys” not only resolves the slightly messy, draft-like feeling ofNotes On A Conditional Form, but also recontextualizes it.It shifts the seeming incoherence into a position of exploration with friends who enjoy making music together, appreciating ideas from every nook of each of their minds.
The album covers a range of genres, but also a plethora of topics with which The 1975 have become attached. Late-stage capitalism is challenged in “People,” and notions of self-pity and boredom, often intertwined with each other, are regularly entertained.“The Birthday Party” actually preempts the theme of friendship, but with a darker tone,with the lyric “I depend on my friends to stay clean, as sad as it seems.” It addresses a nice sentiment of friendly support, but with a certain shame attached to the reliance on such entities. But by the time the record arrives at “Guys,” Healy has a mature, confident attitude towards his friends.The record ends not with despair and fear, but with gratitude.ThroughoutNotes On A Conditional Form,Healy takes the audience through all there is to worry about in the world, but “Guys” signs off to remind us that no matter how much there is to deal with on a global scale, in the end, you have your friends.
“Guys” is a large leap away from what The 1975 typically represent. It’s a calm, sincere confession to Healy’s nearest and dearest. But, it’s important to note that its difference isn’t solely what makes it so successful. The 1975’s ironic and meta-critical approach only works when it can function in contrast with moments of astute and simple expressions of genuine emotion and connection.Without heartfelt moments, the postmodern commentaries of The 1975 would feel arbitrary, and with no grounds for what a good antidote to said commentaries would be. “Guys” allows The 1975’s other, more examined songs to actually be more valid, and with a stronger foundation on which to be critical. The sincerity so seldom shown by Healy and the band is shown in this song, and creates a moment of brave vulnerability that is grounding, refreshing, and even calming for fans. “Guys” is the perfect conclusion to a complex album and the perfect break from intellectual stimulation.
