The 1975 have unveiled the opening track to their new album, Notes on a Conditional Form. As it has been with each of their previous full-lengths, the first song is called “The 1975” — only this time, it doesn’t feature frontman Matty Healy singing the familiar lines “Go down/ Soft sound…” Instead, the only words are an articulate plea from Swedish teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
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Thunberg gained international notoriety when she played hooky from school to protest outside of Swedish parliament. In January 2018, she was invited to give a speech at the World Economic Forum, and much of the audio from the new “The 1975” borrows from that address. “We must admit that we are losing this battle. We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed,” Thunberg recites over a stirring ambient composition. “All political movements in their present form have failed. But Homo sapiens have not yet failed.”
Listen to the full “The 1975” below.
Notes on a Conditional Form is due to follow last year’s phenomenal full-length A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. There’s no word yet on when the record will arrive, but this first song is likely a signal more news is shortly on its way. Meanwhile, The 1975 recently announced an expanded fall tour schedule, and you can get tickets to all their upcoming concerts here.
