Matt Healy, frontman of alternative/indie darlings The 1975, has posted a short snippet of the group’s upcoming single “Part of the Band” on social media. The tune is set to be released on July 7th, and you can take a listen to the brief teaser down below.
The ten-second preview- although it is indeed just a preview- feels like somewhat of a departure from the band’s retro-tinged pop sound, featuring a delicate piano and fluttering saxophone lines that almost feel like a score to a coming-of-age film. Healy has also posted lyrics to the song in the caption of the post: “She was part of the airforce, I was part of the band, I always used to bust into her hand, In my imagination, I was living my best life, Living with my parents, Way before the paying penance and verbal propellants.” The forthcoming tune was initially teased last month when posters were put up around London, featuring a black and white photo of Healy. On June 28th, lyrics to the new song began to appear on billboards, pictures of which were shared on Instagram by the record label Dirty Hit.
The group’s last full-length album Notes on a Conditional Form came out in 2020, and since then, a follow-up to the record has been highly anticipated by fans. As far back as last year, members of The 1975 have been alluding to a new album being on the horizon, with Healy saying in a now-deleted Instagram post from last year that he is: “Making another ‘classic record’ smh,”.
Healy has also been teasing new music from his musical project Drive Like I Do, informing fans last year that he has been working on “a little bit of new music” under the moniker.
The 1975 will be returning to live performance in August of this year, with two gigs at Japan’s Summer Sonic festival. This will be somewhat of a post-pandemic milestone for the four-piece, as they have not performed live since their show in Dublin, all the way back in March of 2020. The group are headlining the Summer Sonic bill alongside Post Malone, and are joined by the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen, One OK Rock, The Libertines, Måneskin, Megan Thee Stallion and The Offspring.
