NOACF Is Better Than You Think: A Defense
It’s taken me about a year to process NOACF. It was an album that had an unbelievable amount of hype and after the success of ABIIOR, no one knew which direction they would go in. What we ended up with is an expansive, eighty minute experimental album that fuses elements of electronica, country, indie rock and house music. It was deliberately advertised as a companion to ABIIOR and while many expected it to be a continuation, it took a completely opposite direction sonically and a more refined approach thematically. Upon its release it struck an immediately polarizing reaction from fans and critics. If you were disappointed by this album, hear me out.
First off, let’s get this out of the way. Is NOACF their best album? No. Is it a bad album? Far from it. I personally believe that ABIIOR dealt with some of these ideas in a more concise manner, but the problem with comparing the two is that NOACF asks different questions and speaks on its themes with a very different process. I genuinely don’t think you can measure them up side by side. ABIIOR took an external, outward approach to its content, while NOACF inverts itself and returns to the bands internal musical approach. The biggest difference here, NOACF asks you to understand it more-so sonically than lyrically. Never before have the band relied this heavily on their ambient sounds and instrumental motifs to tell a story. Where there once was an abundance of 80s new wave inspired pop songs, there is now an ever changing ambient soundscape asking you to listen in a different way.
Lyrically, NOACF is not so focused on the intricacies of our lives affected by an online presence like on ABIIOR, yet there is still plenty of its lingering challenges to be found here. NOACF is an inward reflection of frontman Matty Healy’s anxiety. This is an album about thoughts, questions and miscommunication inflicted by political failings, mental health, atheism, and living with uncertainty. It shares many of the same sentiments as their previous records, but does so with a simpler link to Healy’s personal life. We hear about his search for meaning in Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied, his struggle with uncertainty on Playing On My Mind, and declining mental health on I Think There’s Something You Should Know. This album is a more ambiguous, broader statement about youth culture and relationships, it’s even more relevant when placed in the context of its time: 2020. A year of tumultuous events and precariousness. What The 1975 are talking about on this record correlate closely with the worries and conflicts of the modern age, with a slightly more personalized touch. We heard such outward statements about love and post-modern sentiments on ABIIOR, now NOACF casually references examples in Healy’s life when he has encountered that contention.
Sonically, this album explores niche genres of music that many fans may find abrasive. I think it was easier for fans to digest the more mainstream sounds they were playing with on previous albums, but this one takes a deep dive into truly alternative and experimental music. This album is not trying to appeal to anything they’ve done before. Roadkill embraces a full on country guitar, People is the heaviest rock song they’ve made and Yeah I Know is entirely carried by a few lyrics with a ticking snare. A large portion of this album is dedicated to house/electronic music, which half of those songs have little to no lyrics. There are obvious nods to artists such as Burial and Jon Hopkins, who may be new to those who can recognize more familiar influences like Bowie, Joy Division or Radiohead. They play with styles of music and rhythms that aren’t commonly found in modern pop music, but definitely have made their mark in smaller communities of music listeners. Shiny Collarbone is one of the most shining examples of a heavy dance track that is as equally valuable as any of their more lyrically heavy tracks. Its pulsing beat and weaving synths create an undeniably interesting movement in the mix and I can’t help but worry that many fans will not understand what they were trying to do with song like this, What Should I Say and Having No Head.
Despite the mixed reactions, NOACF received praise for its adventurousness and genre bending. I don’t think as many people realized how well received this album was in the music community and the music they made on this project gained them a respectable amount of credibility. I believe that this album will age well and be looked back upon as being one of their greatest. It’s not only a momentous effort in pushing their sound but a monumental practice in refining it. They sound the best they ever have and I think you will find their hallmark messages told in a masterful way on this record. Their sentiments on love, addiction, uncertainty and anxiety could easily be misplaced as being shallow when they’ve actually done a good job at homing in on their ideas in a minimalistic way.
“The best comedians are the ones who express their biggest ideas in the fewest words, that’s something I strive to do.” - Matty Healy
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