On the 7th July 2020, acclaimed indie band The 1975 dropped the accompanying music video for their hit song, Don’t Worry, on their official YouTube channel. Don’t Worry is the seventh installment from the band’s creative collaboration with visual director and artist Ben Ditto, and is the latest visual delight the Mancunian quartet has unveiled from their new album, Notes on a Conditional Form.
The 1975 posted a short clip from Don’t Worry on social media to relay the news of the music video’s drop to a whopping 2 million followers. Posted on the 7th July 2020 to Instagram, the content was met with over 125,000 likes and views in just 24 hours, receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from the band’s giant fanbase.
Dreamy and romantic, Don’t Worry is a ballad that is as warmly reassuring as its apt title. Frontman Matty Healy’s delicate, layered vocals soothe you: “When you feel no one knows just what you’re going through/When your insides feel much colder than snow/Don’t worry, darlin’/’Cause I’m here with you”, whilst the stripped back, but powerful piano moves you. Don’t Worry’s empathetic lyrics certainly strike a chord with anyone who has felt unconditional love for another, giving the song relatability and depth.
With similar visual stylings to The 1975’s previously released songs, Yeah I Know and The Birthday Party, also directed by Ditto, the video is a CGI-charged dreamlike sequence. Sweet and simple, the music video is the perfect visual complement to its sonic counterpart Don’t Worry.
Beginning with a beautiful, isolated piano intro not dissimilar to a film score, the first rear shot displays a lonely, animated man. The camera steadily zooms out and displays a high definition, Utopianistic world. Rife with greenery, solar panels and windmills, the CGI world is a vision of sustainability. The shot follows the lone walker strolling through pristine HD surroundings, until the camera rests on a dancing woman, as seen through her window.
Following the main character’s vision, Healy’s intricate harmonies swell with synth-tinged wisps, complementing the on-screen action brilliantly. The viewer is drawn into this bright, animatronic world, and goes willingly. By the end of the video, we are completely invested and when the two animations acknowledge each other and smile, the video is ended on an endearing note, much like the song itself.
Released on the 22nd May, Notes on a Conditional Form is an eclectic twenty-two track record. Described by NME as “the sound of a band with no sonic boundaries”, The 1975’s non-committal to one specific genre comes at no surprise.
Following the release of Notes… The 1975 were previously scheduled to perform their new album on 11th June 2020 at London’s Finsbury Park music event. With a revised date due to the coronavirus pandemic, the show will now take place on the 10th of July, 2021. Supporting acts originally announced for the event include Charlie XCX and Phoebe Bridgers, but whether they’ll return for the 2021 installment remains to be seen. Nevertheless, indie music lovers everywhere have something else on the horizon to look forward to.
Notes on a Conditional Form is out now.
