I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It. An unorthodox album name, that’s even more strange when you consider lead singer Matty Healy said in an interview that he actually said this to one of his ex-girlfriends. Plus, who uses for as a conjunction anymore? Despite the strange name, I really enjoy this album.
I Like It When You Sleep… is much more interesting than The 1975’s earlier, self titled, album as it features a washed out pop vibe that can be akin to shoegaze or chillwave. The album has some fantastic production that heavily features synth, and I really enjoyed the brass towards the end of songs like “This Must Be My Dream” and “She’s American”. There are also some gospel moments where a choir harmonizes with lead singer Matty Healy. I found this to be very aware in songs like “If I Believe You”, a song that’s lyrics ponder and explore Healy’s feelings towards religion. Healy is an atheist, and has even told children that “god was not real” in an interview, which can be seen here.
Healy’s atheism doesn’t bother me, and it just makes the song more intriguing to me. Lyrically, this is the best album of the month, and maybe the year up to this point. Themes like religion, love, family, and drugs often seem very cliche but in the context they are presented the lyrics seem fresh and original. Song’s like “Paris” and “If I Believe You” captivated me with their lyrics, not to mention the fantastic production on “Paris” and gospel influence I mentioned before on “If I Believe You”. “Nana” had very tear-jerking lyrics, that I assume are about Healy’s grandmother. Mixed with the acoustic guitar and soft keys on the song you better make sure you have some tissues nearby while you’re listening to the song.
“I’ve got two left feet and I’m starting to cheat on my girlfriend again”
The album might be a bit too pretentious, but I can get past that. Healy himself has referenced his pretentiousness in interviews, and basically said he doesn’t care if people think he is pretentious. My problem with the album lies in songs like “Please Be Naked”, “Lostmyhead”, and “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it”. They are all instrumental tracks, that are just flat out boring in every sense of the word. In my opinion, they all could have been cut off the album. These songs make the 75 minute album seem so much longer, especially “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” as it’s 6 minutes long. Though to the tracks credit it is the most engaging out of all these three of these songs.
While this album probably won’t have much commercial success, I think that this is a step in the right direction for The 1975. They seem to be straying away from their former straight alternative rock style and going in a new more original direction, that I love. Overall, the album is really good, but not great. Songs like “Please Be Naked” and “Lostmyhead” hold it back, but I expect The 1975 to have an even better third album.
Favorite Songs: “A Change of Heart”, “If I Believe You”, “Somebody Else”, “Paris”
Least Favorite Songs: “Please Be Naked”, “Lostmyhead”, “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it”.
