You Can Be My Wave

The first time I heard Chocolate, it was instant gratification. It's a very simple song with not a lot of progression, but it has a strong dance groove, two incredibly complimentary guitar parts that were very joyful, very catchy vocal melodies, and a voice I just really dug. I worked at a record store at the time and so I would hear this song six-seven times a day. You'd think that I would get sick of it after awhile but I would just keep turning it up every time it came on, much to the chagrin of my coworkers at the time. I guess they didn't really see what I saw in the band. Later singles would come up on our store radio like The City and Sex, and I liked those songs quite a bit too. The former was equally as simple as Chocolate but it had a boomier drum beat, swelling distorted bass, and a classic EDM synth sound sweeping through the chorus. Sex is also a great tune. It's a little more driving, its sections are a little more differentiated, and has these sunburnt guitars that bathe you in sizzling heat. I knew that when this record finally came out, I had to get it.

The first third of the record didn't miss. All the songs I mentioned are front-loaded and with the addition of M.O.N.E.Y. and Talk! - two subtly psychedelic experiments with creative uses of sampling, and in the case of the latter, a really interesting off-kilter groove - I thought I was in for a fantastic and fun indie-pop experience. Once I got through that first leg though, my feelings towards the album began to decline slightly, and perhaps I started to see what my coworkers were seeing. What I realized was that far too many of these songs apply the same formula that The City and Chocolate employ, and that is to just meditate on the same main riff, same drum groove, do very little to change things up or progress these songs to newer, higher places. Now I love those two songs I mentioned, but I think it's because I'm still holding on to those feelings I first held at the time I was introduced to them. Normally, I would say that a good riff or groove does not make a good song entirely on its own. So when I get to songs like Heart Out, Settle Down, Girls, and She Way Out, I recognize that they have catchy elements, but it sounds like the band either had no ideas to expand on it, or didn't bother and went all-in on just a few good ideas.

I held on to this record for years, perhaps hoping that I would finally come to appreciate the rest of the material on this record. And while I find the record generally very pleasant, beyond that first leg, nothing can live up to those great songs that front-load the album. Sadly, it may be time I part with this one because I just don't see myself ever falling completely in love with it. This album still boasts some fantastic singles and a handful of songs that show that the band can experiment and come up with some pretty creative stuff, but perhaps there was this pressure to just deliver and strike while the iron was hot. After all, the band did release four EPs and a full-length album in the span of just two years. It could certainly come down to a quantity over quality sort of thing. I've only really dipped my toes into the stuff the band has done after their debut. I would be curious to explore that more in the future solely based on the strength of some of the songs here. Who knows, maybe you'll see more of my thoughts on The 1975 in the future.