Coming two years after their last release, the 22 track album was long anticipated by fans. The album’s original release date on Feb. 21  was continuously pushed back until its drop on May 22.

The band has teased the release of their fourth album since the first single, “People” was released in August followed by “Frail State of Mind ” back in November, followed, “The Birthday Party” song and music video on Feb. 19th, “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America ” in early April featuring Phoebe Bridgers, and “If You’re Too Shy” on April 23. They also released the “Me & You Together Song ” and music video on May 6. The only release to hint at the new styles on the album was “People”, a more hard rock vibe than any of the other songs.

The album starts with the song “The 1975” and features climate change activist Greta Thunberg’s music debut. The five minute track is a speech by Thunberg with instrumentals by the band behind her is very moving but the music behind her gives off an eerie tone. Along with this powerful message, the next song on the album is a punk rock style song titled “People” that has gathered a lot of good attention from that side of the music industry.  The band strayed away from their usual alternative pop style multiple times on this album by incorporating an interesting array of varying sounds and styles.

Some of the softer songs off the album include, “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America”, a slower song  reminiscent of earlier albums that also incorporates the featured artist, Phoebe Bridgers’ style. “Roadkill” has a similar style with a different, country-like feel to it with more guitar backing than most songs. “Tonight” follows the same pattern with more of a nighttime drive feel than some of the rock music featured in the release. “Nothing Revealed/ Everything Denied” has a gospel feel to it with lots of varying harmonies backing lead singer Matty Healy’s unique voice. “Guys” is a sweet love story that is later revealed to be the story of the band and their journey; this ballad evokes emotion from fans across the globe.

Overall, the 1975 incorporated  more techno into songs like in “I Think There’s Something You Should Know”, “Bagsy Not in Net” and “Frail State of Mind”. The band reached into all genres of music to experiment and gather fans from across the spectrum truly showing how versatile they can be.

Additionally, unlike previous albums,  NOTC includes many tracks without vocals . “Streaming”, “Having No Head” and “The End” have powerful instrumentals that tell their own story without Healy’s singing. “Shiny Collarbone” is solely tribal chants with electronic beats, showing off a large variety of samples.

This album marks an end to the Music For Cars era of the 1975, which included previous album “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships”, and showcases the band diving into other areas of the music industry. It will be interesting to see what this means for future albums and what will carry into the new productions.