With a sound that owes more to 1985 than 1975, this Manchester four-piece came to the Borderline for the final night of their UK tour.
Huw Stephens, who’s been championing the band on Radio 1, joined the crowd of twentysomethings who were eager to see the next great guitar hopes in action.
Named after a date that lead singer Matthew Healy found etched into the back of a book on Beat poetry, The 1975 are a strange visual proposition: a gurning drummer, a bassist seemingly dressed for a fishing trip, a denim-clad guitarist and a singer in a hood.
Musically, however, they meshed perfectly. Set opener The City showcased their knack of pairing a funky guitar riff to an indelible melody; Chocolate was as irresistible as its sugary subject matter.
If some mid-set drinking suggested a bit of rock ’n’ roll debauchery, the band’s music couldn’t be more polished: echo-laden vocals, programmed backing tracks and fat-free songs that rarely exceeded the three-minute mark.
Healy, who eventually removed his hood to reveal a shock of black hair perhaps best kept hidden, clearly believes that fame is a fait accompli. “We’re going to play you a few more from the album and then we’ll move on to the hits,” he announced, seemingly unaware that his band don’t yet have much in the way of “hits”.
With a debut out in May, and a sound custom-built for the radio, this is soon likely to change. Sex, a guitar-heavy romp about the joys of coitus, will be bellowed back to them in the festival tents this summer.
When they veered into plodding U2-isms, as on set closer You, the band were less convincing.
For the most part, though, The 1975 sounded like they could make 2013 their year.
