The 1975 have written some very lush rock music over the past decade. There was one album, however, that they wanted to write “from the gutter.” Ultimately, they ended up changing their minds for a very understandable reason.
On February 26, 2016, The 1975 dropped their sophomore album: I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. It was the follow-up to their acclaimed 2013 self-titled debut album. The second record was instantly a hit, featuring massively successful singles like “Somebody Else” and “The Sound”.
The 1975 frontman, Matty Healy, considered doing hard drugs again while working on the band’s second album
Interestingly, the origins of I Like It When You Sleep were very different than how it turned out. Speaking to Billboard around the time of the album’s release, The 1975 frontman Matty Healy confessed that he was stressed out over expectations for the album.
Healy considered relapsing back into hard drugs so he could write “from the gutter.” However, he decided that he “already had been well into that and come out the other side.”
Instead, the singer allowed himself to be inspired by anything the universe threw at him. “There is no room for democracy in art,” he explained. “I’ve never let my self-delusion or my self-obsession hurt anyone else, but I’ve also never let anything stop me from getting where I’m going.”
There’s no denying that, whatever the motivation, I Like It When You Sleep is a much more grandiose record than its predecessor. “This record is the product of an all-consuming creative bender,” he quipped. “It almost drives me mad. I chew in rhythm, I walk in rhythm, I f*** in rhythm. It’s a carnal thing for me — and I hope it’s about to pay off.”
I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It was a big moment for The 1975. In total, the record came with seven singles: “Love Me”, “Ugh!”, “Somebody Else”, “The Sound”, “A Change of Heart”, “She’s American”, and “Loving Someone”.
The album was popular with fans and critics alike, and led to some big award nominations. The record was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category, as well as British Album of the Year at the BRIT Awards.
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