An intense and impassioned socio-political protest, The 1975’s “Love It If We Made It” is an intimate revolt against the turbulence embedded in today’s cultural and political climate.
— —
There comes a point for many musical artists where they pivot outward, shifting focus off themselves and expanding, in every sense of the word, out into the world. Some call it lyrical maturity, while others call it musical evolution; either way, the result tends to leave a lasting impression as the artist emerges renewed and energized, with fresh perspectives and provocative insights.
“Love It If We Made It” looks to be The 1975’s pivot point. Released 7/20/2018 via Dirty Hit / Interscope, the second single off the UK pop band’s upcoming third album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (October 2018) is an intense and impassioned socio-political protest. The purveyors of “indie pop vibe” have long spoken to our innermost emotions, singing about everything from insecurity and self-doubt to love and lust, and from nostalgia and regrets to hopes and dreams. An evolution far beyond self-reflection, “Love It If We Made It” is an intimate revolt against the turbulence and turmoil embedded in today’s cultural and political climate.
Fucking in a car, shooting heroin
Saying controversial things
just for the hell of it
Selling melanin and then
suffocate the black men
Start with misdemeanours
and we’ll make a business out of them
And we can find out the information
Access all the applications that are
hardening positions
based on miscommunication
Oh! Fuck your feelings!
Truth is only hearsay!
We’re just left to decay!
Modernity has failed us
Stream: “Love It If We Made It” – The 1975
“Love It If We Made It” is a lyrical awakening focused not on love and relationships, but rather on the general headspace of a specific moment – this moment in time. Its subject matter is shocking in the same way that The 1975’s prior single, “Give Yourself a Try,” is musically jarring (read more on that here): This is a new venture for the Manchester four-piece, and while change has a tendency to make us feel uncomfortable and wary, this one is welcome and exciting.
But I’d love it if we made it
Yes, I’d love it if we made it
Yes, I’d love it if we made it
Yes, I’d love it if we made it
Pop bands aren’t expected to talk about politics or current events, but when they do – and do it well – the results can be enormous. Music can both define and disrupt major moments in history: The summer of love was ushered in by The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in May 1967. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Ohio” forever enshrined the Kent State shootings as well as 1970s anti-war sentiment in song. U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” continues to be a cry against war and fighting, in Ireland and beyond.
A new addition to the ever-expanding colloquium of anti-war, anti-hate songs, “Love It If We Made It” is a fervent protest anthem that does exactly what The 1975 do best: It captures inner tension, and shoves it into the spotlight for all to reckon with. The song rises slowly out of silence, hitting listeners over the head at the 24-second mark as The 1975 explode into a heavy jam. Matty Healy’s voice is tense as he sings his opening lines, “We’re fucking in a car, shooting heroin, saying controversial things just for the hell of it.” His voice is nearly a shout, but he holds himself back so as not to spill too much emotion out all at once. As such, what we’re ultimately presented with is a cool and controlled voice that could shatter, or erupt at any second.
What a perfect metaphor for a song with such emotive weight. “Love It If We Made It” is a reactionary song written for right now. While this is especially unique for The 1975, who have long found favor in universal emotions and global sentiments, “Love It If We Made It” truly excels at capturing the overwhelmingness, as well as the strain of hope, that permeates these volatile times. For many of the band’s younger listeners, it may serve as a much-needed wakeup call – the kick everyone needs to get up and actually help make a difference in society. Here’s to hoping fans digest this song’s meaning and internalize its message, rather than singing blindly because they like the way it sounds.
We hear Healy, exasperated but hopeful, sharing his desire to persevere in the chorus: “And I’d love it if we made it; yes, I’d love it if we made it,” he sings, heralding a momentary respite before the band dives back into the thick of things.
Poison me daddy
I got the Jones right through my bones
Write it on a piece of stone
A beach of drowning 3 year olds
Rest in peace Lil Peep
The poetry is in the streets
Jesus save us!
Modernity has failed us
Littered with topical references and inundated with feeling, “Love It If We Made It” says exactly what it needs to say. In many ways, this feels like The 1975’s American Idiot moment – a term coined after Green Day’s monumental 2004 album, which helped shape so many younger minds in its day. Fourteen years later, we’re still digging through the same trenches – Healy offers a list of them in the breakdown:
Consultation, degradation
Fossil fuelling, masturbation
Immigration, liberal kitsch
Kneeling on a pitch
This quickly transitions into the band’s epic third verse, packed with two Donald Trump quotes alongside the band’s most direct and memorable protest lyric:
“I moved on her like a bitch!”
Excited to be indicted
Unrequited house with seven pools
“Thank you Kanye, very cool!”
War has been incited
and guess what, you’re all invited
And you’re famous
Modernity has failed us
“War has been incited and guess what, you’re all invited.” The 1975 have joined the good fight, finding a platform for their artistic voice and musical identity that speaks to the biggest issues of our day – in this case, the chaos in Washington that seems to have inserted itself into every inch of our culture, thanks to the overt bigotry, racism, and prejudice displayed by an inept Commander-in-Chief.
Released October 15, 2018, the Adam Powell-directed “Love It If We Made It” music video captures The 1975’s message(s) in graphic, provocative detail, urging us to reflect on the deeply fractured state of our world. Healy’s vivid lyrics come to life through a curated clip show of familiar scenes taken from recent memory: They depict police brutality, gun violence, protests and demonstrations, riots, war, Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, the KKK, Kanye West, nuclear testing, and North Korea – to name just a few. Playing before our eyes in-between bright flashes of color and in quick succession, these visuals are likely to overwhelm – and in fact, that’s the point: All of this is overwhelming, but that’s not an excuse to look away. We have to address each and every one of these very real issues; we have to fix and heal our world.
Pulsing and vibey, with a massive pop chorus and clever lyrics, “Love It If We Made It” shows The 1975 deep in their element. We’ve always known this band to have a lot to say, and now they’re holding nothing back, letting loose on all fronts as they deliver pop with purpose – a song that begs the world to check itself and do better, lest we not make it through to 2019.
Needless to say, we can’t wait to hear the rest of A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships.
— —
:: stream Love It If We Made It here ::
— — — —
Connect to The 1975 on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Dirty Hit
