Album Review: ‘I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it’

“I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” – perhaps one of the lengthiest album titles and longest running times in recent memory – somehow still leaves the listener wishing for more.

The release of The 1975’s sophomore album has been incessantly hyped ever since lead singer Matty Healy began posting cryptic messages via Twitter in early 2015. “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it,” or “ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI,” however, is a jarring change of pace from the band’s past work. It will prove to be a polarizing force among The 1975’s fans due to its departures from the band’s original sound.

The British alternative rock band soared to prominence in 2013 when their first full-length, self-titled LP debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart. The 1975’s new album, with its musing tone and lyrics, makes clear that the members have learned quite a lot in the intervening years, ranging from new adventures in love and loss to frustration with consumer culture and celebrity idolatry.

Despite the introspective lyrics and love-centric themes, however, every track is not exactly riveting. The album is massive, with 17 tracks and over half clocking in at more than four minutes. It requires quite a bit of concentration and stamina to make it all the way through in one go.

The sound of the album is completely different from the band’s first offering: far fewer obvious rock influences and softer in tone overall. After such a relatively aggressive debut, it makes sense that the next effort would pull back. Healy experiments with genres and airy synth instrumentation, showing that he doesn’t care what is expected of The 1975.

“ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI” is a notably cinematic experience, with some purely instrumental tracks transporting the listener to an indie romance film à la “Her.” Other predominantly instrumental songs, however, are meaningless and boring, like the titular track, which is just an amalgamation of synth samples and tempo changes. I was left feeling that perhaps Healy pulled back too far.

Nevertheless the album is incredibly cohesive across the board: Each track flows into the next, showing Healy’s desire for the album to be viewed as a unified body of work. “Please Be Naked” is comprised of minimalist piano notes that bring to mind both a person gazing at their lover in bed and the soundtrack to “Finding Nemo.” “Lostmyhead” is a shoegaze musing that highlights a relentless, compressed siren surrounding soft vocals and pensive, seashore-like synth loops, conveying the pain experienced by the singer as he asks “Can you feel it?/ Can you feel it?”

But the further The 1975 departs from their original sound, the more one has to ask if they should have sacrificed listenability for artistic expression.

With the new effort, Healy’s vocals are noticeably de-emphasized, whereas on “The 1975,” his voice was the main attraction and often had a cynical, harsh edge. With “ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI,” his voice is often demoted to second place in comparison to the cyclical synth tracks and plucky guitar riffs. On “Loving Someone” and “Paris,” the writing provides little range for his voice to explore, leaving the listener without anything to latch on to and rendering many of the tracks immediately forgettable.

As the album comes to an end, a question comes to mind: Is Healy getting to the heart of what matters or is he getting lost in the aesthetics? While the emotion in the music is beyond doubt, the unnecessary instrumental tracks and the sheer length of the track list and album title makes one wonder whether the band got lost in the production of it all.

While Healy’s intent to explore different genres is clear, most of the album fails to make an impression. The album is saved by the catchiness of the singles, the heartfelt emotions and the sheer beauty of some of the instrumental passages. However, “ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI” definitely won’t replace the original 1975.