A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships is most interesting when its musical warmth complicates what the words are saying. The 1975 make addiction sound bright, public panic sound anthemic and emotional honesty sound almost relaxed. The songs do not all belong to one style, but the better ones share a concern with how people perform their feelings and how difficult it can be to stop.
“Love It If We Made It” is the clearest high point. Matty Healy's urgent delivery moves through a crowded set of public events, while the chorus turns the overload into a plea with genuine force. The arrangement gives the song enough forward motion to avoid becoming a list of concerns. “It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)” works through a different contradiction: its very accessible, bright pop sound carries a dependence that is much less comfortable than the melody first suggests.
“Sincerity Is Scary” is just as valuable. Its easy rhythm and warm jazz-influenced colors give Healy room to question emotional defenses without sounding as though he is delivering a lecture. “Mine” is another useful change of scale, with trumpet and a softer vocal tone. The record has a strong ear for how a voice should sit inside a particular arrangement, even when the move between neighboring songs is less natural. The rougher electronic surface of “Give Yourself A Try” is appealing on its own, though the heavily processed “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME” feels less expressive.
The album's broad commentary sometimes becomes too pleased with its own awareness, and the spoken computer narrative is less affecting than the human encounters elsewhere. Still, the large closing release of “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)” gives the sequence a meaningful destination. A Brief Inquiry is an uneven but ambitious pop record with several excellent songs. It communicates most clearly when a specific musical choice makes an emotional contradiction audible. Its finest moments understand that noticing a problem matters less than finding a way to express what living inside it feels like.
