With their album Notes on a Conditional Form now two months away, The 1975 have shared a trippy video for their new single “The Birthday Party”.
The song is quiet and introspective, built over gently-rolling guitars. Lead singer Matt Healy sings, “I met friends at a birthday party/ They were kind of fucked up before it even started.” Later, they go to a “Pinegrove show.”
Healy first teased “The Birthday Party” in an interview with Zane Lowe, in which he also said that the CGI visuals took almost a year. The results are certainly impressive, even if it lingers in the Uncanny Valley. The video opens with a digital avatar of Healy approaching a building with a sign labeled “Mindshower.” A floating device greets him with, “Hello, Mr. Healy. Welcome to Mindshower Digital Detox.” After he surrenders his phone, Healy is transported to a magical — but still extremely computerized — world. Check out the video for “The Birthday Party’ below.
In the same interview, Healy also spoke about the the recent delay of Notes on a Conditional Form. He suggested the album is now finished, and is waiting on bandmate/producer George Daniel’s approval.
“It’s done in regards to who cares. Like, it’s getting mastered and that, right? And there’s a couple of more things. I mean, George Daniel is an OCD nightmare. He can’t finish an album. We rip it out of his hands. It’s still coming out 24th of April though.”
Interestingly, Healy suggested that The 1975 had already conceptualized two more projects: a “Matty” record and a “George” record. “One thing that I know that we’re gonna do is that I’m doing a Matty record and George is doing a George record. And we’re gonna produce each other’s records. So that’s gonna happen.”
Notes on a Conditional Form arrives April 24th and pre-orders are ongoing. Previously, the band shared the singles “People”, “Frail State of Mind”, and “Me & You Together Song”.
The 1975 have a busy tour schedule this year, including festival appearances at Beale Street, Boston Calling, Bonnaroo, Hurricane & Southside, Lollapalooza, and Forecastle. Snag your tickets here.
The 1975 Take a “Mindshower” in Trippy New Video for “The Birthday Party”: Stream
wrengraves
