Long
before The 1975 make their way to the stage, the venue is brimming, the heat
uncomfortable and the atmosphere electric. Anticipation simply couldn’t be
greater to see what the Manchester
As the instantly recognisable percussive opening of hit single ‘The City’ kicks things off, the room is sent into a frenzy and, from this point on energy levels fail to dip throughout the entire set.
Short, explosive synth-pop songs, one after another; tracks such as ‘Girls’ are infectious, but it’s hit single ‘Chocolate’, (which was recently voted the best song of the 100 most played tracks on Radio 1 in the past five years), written after the band’s run in with the police many years ago, which really stirs the crowd. Their set is the perfect mix of the upbeat anthems and more atmospheric and mellow musings of ‘M.O.N.E.Y’, ‘Head.Cars.Bending’ and ‘So Far (It’s Alright)’.
Effortlessly
cool, much of The 1975’s vintage tone, found in songs such as ‘’Heart Out’ and
‘Talk!’, could be that of a John Hughes
movie soundtrack. Front man, Matty Healy, bottle of red wine in hand,
occasionally banters awkwardly with the fervent crowd, however, the music does
the majority of the talking. Slick and tight, The 1975 may have become an
overnight hit, however it is the four-piece’s long standing history and
friendship that allows the songs and stage show to speak for itself tonight.
The
adoring crowd, who know every single word, aren’t quite satisfied until the
band return for a couple more songs. Chants of “We want Sex, we want Sex”
ensue, until The 1975 make a re-entrance. Hit debut single, ‘Sex’ is almost
drowned out, partly by the audience joining in with the lyrics and partly
because of the sounds of screaming girls at Matty’s now naked torso in the
rising heat of Stylus. It is left to the echoic ‘You’ to close out the set.
With its catchy riff and impressive instrumental breakdown, the night is ended
on a high.
