The 1975 are one of the hottest acts right now, and they put on one helluva show. Their experimental mixture of pop and R&B– fine tuned with heavy synths and autotune–keeps fans on their toes and constantly wondering what they'll do next.
The band is currently on the road on the Music for Cars tour, which supports their latest album, 2018's A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, as well as their forthcoming follow-up, Notes on a Conditional Form.
The tour began back in March and runs through September visiting various cities all over the world. (You can check out the North American highlights here!) The shows have been visually spectacular with a stacked setlist including cuts from all three of their albums.
The 1975's setlists have consisted of 15 songs with a three-song encore, bookending with A Brief Inquiry's "Give Yourself a Try" and "Love It If We Made It" followed by a three-song encore of "Chocolate," "The Sound" and "Sex."
I took a closer look at some of the songs the band decided to include on the setlist and what makes them stand out. Make sure to cue up our Setlist Playlist on Spotify before you continue reading to follow along!
"It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)"
The fifth single from A Brief Inquiry is classic 1975: high-energy and high-drama with dark lyrics over funky guitars and synths. Healy wrote "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)" following a stint in rehab. It's "the big heroin one," he says.
The 29-year-old has always been open about his drug abuse, and voluntarily admitted himself to rehab in 2017 following a four year addiction to heroin and other substances. "I went and worked with horses for seven weeks," he explained.
"I didn’t get dragged away to rehab, I was f–king exhausted and at the risk of being another statistic in that prescription drug opioid crisis that hit America, because that’s the way I dealt with things on tour."
"Robbers"
This is an oldie but a goodie off of the band's 2014 self-titled debut album. In it, Healy describes a toxic relationship based on characters from film and television.
"Characters like Bonnie and Clyde always appealed to me as a teenager," he said.
"...Couples so intoxicated with one another that they fear nothing in the pursuit of the realization of each other, actions fueled by blind unconditional love. ‘Robbers’ is an ode to those relationships. The type of relationship all humans long for. All or nothing. This video is about when love makes two people feel they are the centre of the universe.”
"Love It If We Made It"
This A Brief Inquiry track criticizes the United States' contemporary social climate. Throughout the song, Healy alludes to various political and cultural paradoxes, which I've listed below:
- "I got the Jones right through my bones"
- "A beach of drowning three-year olds"
- "Rest in peace, Lil Peep"
- “Fossil fueling/masturbation/immigration/liberal kitsch/kneeling on a pitch”
- "I moved on her like a bitch"
- "Thank you Kanye, very cool!"
"Hopefully [the song] could be used on a montage for the times," Healy said. "But it’s not going to change the times. It doesn't provide a solution."
"Chocolate"
"Chocolate" is arguably the band's most well-known song. Its popularity gave the group their first radio play and was released as a single from their debut album. In it, "chocolate" is a euphemism for marijuana.
Healy describes it as "a love letter to the authority figures in our town – you know about small town boredom, both by the kids and by the police."
The 1975 have played this song a whopping 673 times live... it's clearly a fan-favorite!
Check out a recent setlist from their tour below:
The 1975 have just a few shows left on this leg of their tour. Check out a full list of dates below and make sure to peep their website for any upcoming tour info!
The 1975 Music for Cars North American tour dates:
05/17 – Gulf Shores, AL @ Hangout Music Festival
05/18 – Atlanta, GA @ State Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
05/19 – Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
05/21 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
05/22 – Richmond, VA @ Virginia Credit Union Live!
05/29 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
05/30 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
