The 1975: My ABIIOR Fangirling Curation

December 22, 2018

For the last recent weeks, British rock band The 1975 has been dropping goodies one after another as part of their promotions for the release of their third studio album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. Apart from the album launch itself, the band has recently launched 2 music videos, participated on a live lounge, and had a worldwide Twitter listening party to name a few. These activities have left fans all over the world smiling from ear to ear. I would know, because I am one of those happy fans. 😊

Here are some of the highlights of their recent activities:

Sincerity is Scary Music video
This is the first video that I got to really like from the ABIIOR era. Although TOOTIME was dope, I just didn't have the attachment to the other 2 earlier music videos. This is the one that I got really amused about because of all the easter eggs in it (plus No Rome and Ross McDonald cameos!). I know that piano falling scene has something to do with their other song lyrics, I just couldn't figure out yet which of that is. Plus, just look at Matty here! He looks so healthy (he's clean for a while now) and he's just killin' those moves. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. 💓



Radio 1 Live Lounge Guesting
I haven't really recovered yet from the new music video and here goes another Live Lounge session with them. I always loved listening to the band when they guest on Radio 1 (I downloaded the BBC Radio App because of this very reason). It was their first time to perform It's Not Living, TOOTIME, and Sincerity is Scary live and I could just sense their excitement and nervousness at the same time. I was then listening live via the BBC app. I turned up the volume and was just squealing when they started playing their songs. They also did a cover of Ariana Grande's thank u, next.




The Album Launch: 11/30/2018, 12AM Local Time
FINALLY, THE DAY WE WERE ALL WAITING FOR. I was very happy that the new album was made available on Spotify on the same day as the official release date because I know I don't have access to get the album on time. I didn't want to rely on album leaks and I would want to acquire a copy the legal way. So on the night of the 29th, I've prepped myself to be up until midnight. I even upgraded to Spotify Premium so that I will have the liberty to listen to the album repeatedly and in the order that I wanted. Fortunately, I didn't have work the next day, which meant that I could be up all night if I wanted to. I have been looking on the band's subreddit hours before the album dropped on Spotify in my timezone. Users who were in other locations (and already the 30th there) were already sending their comments of love and adoration for the album, even mentioning specific songs on the site. This made me really hyped as I waited for the strike of midnight on my clock.

At the strike of 12, I refreshed my Spotify app. Worth the wait. 😍
As the calendar date changed on my phone, I checked my Spotify. 'Lo and behold, the album. I proceeded into listening to each of the tracks with my eyes closed. I think I already slept past 3AM. I just fell heavily in love that night. There's a lot to talk about this new album - lots of new creativity content there (there's a jazz track, and a ballad!). I am really super super proud of this band! They don't fail to surprise their fans with something new.

First ABIIOR Live Show  
The day of the official album release, they held an intimate show at London I think (I am not 100% sure of the location). This is their first live show for the ABIIOR era. This is the first time Matty met the fans after being clean, and you can just tell that this event meant a lot for him. See this video and you will understand. I adore this human being so much. 

Twitter Worldwide Listening Party
This is an online event that I failed to participate in, and I regretted it somehow. Well the fact that it happened 3AM our local time didn't help really. Yup, that's the only reason - I can't stay up that late anymore. (Ahh the limitations of getting old. I remember the times during in college wherein I can pull off an all-nighter very easily.)  The following morning, I looked up Twitter and there they are - I saw the members' tweets. Their tweets are just all over the place, I couldn't make the sequence. There, I realized the beauty of reading these tweets as the members published it. You know they were also listening to the same songs at each moment, and that's priceless. 😭Next time they do another listening party, I hope I could finally participate.

Spotify Premium Show
And their activity never stops. On December 4, they held another small-crowd show for Spotify Premium at Camden Assembly. I didn't see the show real-time, but fortunately a sweet sweet soul uploaded the full concert footage. I spent my afternoon break at the office watching the whole thing. I super loved their performance, but the crowd was very annoying. Good thing the magical acoustic performance of Be My Mistake sealed the event in a positively unforgetful way.


INLIINWY Music Video
Out of nowhere, another music video was released by the band. It's Not Living is one of my most favorite jam from the album, and seeing the visual aesthetic for the song was such a treat.



I super loved the flow of the video. It very well captures the message Matty wants to send through the song - the maniac effects of drugs. It's also a treat to see other artists' cameos in the video: No Rome and Japanese House! The Sincerity is Scary music video cross-over  was very hilarious also. Based on what I've read over the comments on Reddit, the video is also a homage to Talking Heads and Stop Making Sense concert. And through that, I discovered another artist with great music.

Acoustic Version Music Videos
And the goodies just kept coming. Over the band's Youtube Channel, three videos of acoustic versions of 102, Be My Mistake, and Paris were released. And hey, the black and white aesthetics are back!


102. Although the original acoustic video will always be a gem to the fans, it's a nice treat to see Matty give it a fresh acoustic flavor in this performance.


Be My Mistake. I consider this song the Woman track of ABIIOR. Listening to a studio recording of the acoustic version gave me the chills, now knowing it's effect before a crowd. You're just a magical human being, Matty. I have no words.  


Paris. Aaah this is the icing on the cake. This track is from their second album, and out of nowhere they made such beautiful beautiful acoustic version of it. I AM IN LOVE. 

BBC Radio 1 & Twitter Take Over
After the Live Lounge performance, Matty Healy made a number of co-hosting stints at the Radio 1 station (you can listen to it here and here). I just love these extra appearances that Matty is doing. It really helps with the PR of their band I guess. And have I mentioned that he is super active on Twitter lately? Below are some of my favorite tweets from him:


It's a known inside joke within the fans to pressure the band to play their song Antichrist. I think it's because they never played it live. Based on what I have read over the internet, they mentioned somewhere (in an interview?) that things were like that because they've lost the original backing tracks and sounds in an old hard drive and can't recreate the same sounds of the song. Nintendo's reply was just straight savage, fans around the world clapped appreciatively for sure.

I would give anything to witness the first night. 😭

Concert Stop in My Country
This is the highlight of everything. Finally my wish came true, they are coming back to Manila for a show! I wanted to get the best (and most comfortable) seat in the house. Good thing I had my learnings from past concerts, I know just how to snatch the golden tickets. I was already on standby on the online ticketing website the day of the ticket selling. On the strike of the hour of the ticket release, I refreshed the page and immediately clicked the section I was eyeing on. There's no room for hesitation because competition is very high. The moment I paused to think, the seats I was about to click changed to a red box, meaning it was already just taken. And so I had to decide quickly. After a few minutes of clicking, I successfully purchased my tickets! I got Row A tickets! Yay! My fangirling heart is fluttering with happiness.



I well knew the moment I saw this band live for the first time that they have owned me. After 4 years, I will be seeing them again in concert for the third time. The Universe knows how I much I cherish this band. Their music is my medicine. They make me happy.

For sure I will be following them more closely than ever for the coming months. Until then, see you in September my favorite band The 1975. 💓

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