Big, buoyant, and unrelenting in all the right ways, The 1975’s “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” is a bona fide energy shot – an unrestrained outpouring of pulsing sound and feverish emotion ready to get us up on our feet and dancing.
“If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” – The 1975
Maybe I would like you better if you took off your clothes.
We needed this bop.
It’s a rainy day in New York and it’s cloudy in London – but more to the point, we’re over a month into what feels like a global quarantine, and running in place just isn’t cutting it anymore.
We needed more than entertainment or an escape – we needed rejuvenation, and that’s exactly what The 1975 have delivered in their new single, “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know).” The seventh (seventh!) single off the band’s highly anticipated fourth album Notes On A Conditional Form (out May 22, 2020) is a bona fide energy shot – an unrestrained outpouring of pulsing sound and feverish emotion ready to get us up on our feet and dancing.
I see her online, all the time
I’m trying not to stare down there
While she talks about her tough time
Girl of your dreams,
you know what I mean
There’s something ’bout her stare
that makes you nervous
And you say things that you don’t mean
Released on what should have been Notes On A Conditional Form’s release date (the record has since been pushed back), “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” arrives as a beautifully expressive 5½ song complete with a gorgeous minute-long instrumental build-up. For the more impatient listeners ready to dive right in, the four-minute radio-friendly edit is right for you; either way, we’re all in for a treat.
“If You’re Too Shy” finds The 1975 doing what they do best, injecting their music with enough pop bluster, illustrative lyrics, and raw emotion to completely immerse their audience in a new world.
Today’s premier Mancunian outfit and one of the most exciting pop/rock acts on the world’s stage, the four-piece of Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald, and George Daniel have long had a knack for buoyant guitar licks and vocal lines laced with urgency and nuance; in that regard, “If You’re Too Shy” joins the likes of past singles “Somebody Else,” “The Sound,” “Chocolate,” “Girls,” “Robbers,” “Love It If We Made It,” “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME,” and more in showcasing The 1975’s signature effervescence. Deep grooves, impassioned horns, and beguiling lyrical content ensure our full attention from start to finish.
While it’s always fun to understand a song’s inspirations, often times we don’t need to understand the whole plot in order to receive the artist’s message. Such is the case with “If You’re Too Shy,” which seems to revolve around the narrator’s infatuation with a girl online – possibly something related to pornography or a cam girl. The verses find Matty Healy obsessing over her outside of their interactions, whilst the chorus highlights their dialogue.
Well, I found my hotel, I called up the twins
It’s seven in the morning, so they won’t let me in
I need to get back, I’ve gotta see the girl on the screen
(And then I phoned her and she said)
“Maybe I would like you better if you took off your clothes
I’m not playing with you, baby, I think that you should give it a go”
She said, “Maybe I would like you better if you took off your clothes
I wanna see and stop thinking, if you’re too shy then let me-
Too shy then let me know”
More importantly, the chorus offers a moment of overwhelming release. Who wouldn’t want to make “Maybe I would like you better if you took off your clothes” their climax? Once again The 1975 succeed in marrying compelling lyricism with overwhelmingly catchy melodies. The embrace of this time spent together with the girl online is the band’s peak of musical and emotional ecstasy: They let go of tension and let energy spill out from all sides.
I’ve been wearing nothing every time I call you
And I’m starting to feel weird about it
Sometimes it’s better if you think about it
This time, I think I’m gonna drink through it
But I see her online, and I don’t think that I should be calling
All the time, I just wanted a happy ending
And I’m pretending I don’t care ’bout her stare
While she’s giving me a tough time
Well, I found a motel, it looked like the bins
I think there’d been a murder, so we couldn’t get in
I need to get back, I gotta see the girl on the screen
Joyous; jovial; a little weird, but nonetheless soothing and delightfully upbeat. This is what we needed; this is what we’ve been unknowingly pining for. It’s not an escape – it’s an indulgence: An over-the-top waterfall relieving us of the anxiety and stress that’s been building for weeks on end. “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” is a feisty, explosive pop song that hits in all the right ways, kicking us into high gear and giving us one more reason not only to smile, but also to feel good. Notes on a Conditional Form may not be coming out for another month, but in its place The 1975 have delivered a song we can jam to all day and all night long.
Notes on a Conditional Form is out May 22, 2020!
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:: stream/purchase Notes on a Conditional Form here ::
“If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” – The 1975
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