The 1975’s new album, “Being Funny In A Foreign Language,” has a new spin on how modernity has failed us yet again, with the upbeat melody they are known best for, keeping things light when singing about world issues and exploring their current chapter of post-adolescence. Lead singer Matty Healy usually pokes fun at himself and world issues, but this time there’s something different mixed in; a glimmer of hope for the future.

Taking inspiration from bands like Suicide, Lou Reed and LCD Soundsystem and working with acclaimed producers like Jack Antonoff for this album, Healy tries to achieve sincerity in a world of cynicism. “Because the 1975 has been my journal and it’s been so dynamic, it’s been very difficult for me to decipher exactly what we are or what I am at a particular time. I recognize that that is always part of my expression: talking about the ever-increasing culture war around me,” Healy said to Vulture.

While Healy sees the lyricism to be a reflection of the world, the band’s political messages in their music have also been a topic of controversy in the past. “It’s good that he’s shedding light on political issues through music, bringing up political messages will at the very least encourage audiences to research these issues,” sophomore Saanvi Gadila said.

This album doesn’t lack such references in music speaking of global warming, gun violence, and being ‘canceled’ on Twitter. “The lyrics really spoke to me, especially with the recent school shootings in the news; gun violence has been a recent topic I’ve thought a lot about,” senior Kathryn Hennessy said.

The band’s audacity to speak about such issues has led to further discussions in the past as well, getting Greta Thunberg on a song in their 2018 album Notes on a Conditional Form, calling for all, “So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel,” Thunberg said on the record.

Others do have a problem with Healy’s advocacy, though. “I wasn’t really vibing with it, he sounded a little too earnest,” sophomore Joy Nadda said.

Healy pokes fun at his meaningless apologies and cries out for change as well, “Am I ironically woke? The butt of my joke?” Healy sings. Playing 27 shows in North America, the tour for the recent album is also highly anticipated, their first since 2019, fans are excited to see the band after the pandemic. “I am so excited, I’m glad that more artists are getting a chance to go on tour so we can see them live after years. I love how this album makes me question how we connect with others,” Gadila said.

“Being Funny In a Foreign Language” helps students see themselves in a form of art that doesn’t coddle them or belittle their struggles, rather empathizing with them and finding humor in major world issues, and connecting people with a dull sense of hope, and “making an aesthetic out of not doing well.”