The 1975 – The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA 7/24/13

The much-hyped British synth-rockers The 1975 don’t just have the girls giddy in England; they’ve affected the young lasses across the Pond, too. A predominantly under 21 crowd of young girls packed a sold-out Troubadour in West Hollywood, Calif., to see the four-piece Manchester band play their infectious, jangly tunes, even before their debut album has been released.

Relying heavily on songs off their latest EP IV, the band was taken by surprise from the get-go when fans sang along to the opening number “Head. Cars. Bending.,” a synth-heavy song featured on one of its earlier EPs, Music For Cars.

For a band fresh on the scene, one might be surprised to have fans know every song word-for word. This fact didn’t go unnoticed with lead singer Matthew Healy, who commented in his thick British accent: “I’m suspicious of you knowing all the songs. Someone leak the album to you?”

While many of the songs deal with Healy’s life, loves and heartbreaks, the band keeps the mood of its songs up-tempo with its guitar-driven brand of radio-friendly dance-rock. This is particularly evident in songs like “Girls,” “Chocolate” and “Sex,” which is currently getting a fair amount of airplay on radio stations across the U.S.

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 “Girls,” which is one of the band’s slower songs—yet still very much upbeat—showcases Healy’s range in vocals, whereas “Sex,” highlights the band’s talents instrumentally, creating a much harder, guitar-heavy sound than any of its other tunes.

But it was the band’s last song, “You,” that shows its real potential. With its catchy hooks and big sound, the young men from Manchester had the crowd in frenzy, unable to hold back their love for the band. The warm response from the crowd made Healy say: “I think we found our new favorite place.”

Overall, the sound created by The 1975 seems on par with other up-and-coming bands like Gold Fields (Australia) and The Neighbourhood (United States), showing a trend in synth/guitar-driven, bouncy-pop music stretching across the globe.

The band will return to the U.S. this fall to tour in support of its self-titled debut album scheduled to be released in September.

photos by Scott Sheff

Setlist

Head. Cars. Bending

The City

Milk

Settle Down

Heart Out

Girls

Chocolate

Sex

You

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