"Swerving from Afrobeat to brushed-snare jazz balladry to one track that sounds like a trap remix of a Bon Iver ayahuasca trip". The 1975 are the band for our tumultuous times. Following in the footsteps of their overflowing sophomore album I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, which upended the critical narrative surrounding the band and moved them from being sidelined as a boy band to ending up on many end-of-year lists, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is the "millennial answer to OK Computer." It's an outrageous and seriously eclectic album, there are barely two songs that seem to exist on the same sonic wavelength. There's the straight-forward acoustic ballad 'Be My Mistake,' the house-infused pop of 'TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME,' the ambient Radiohead-y breakbeat drums of 'How To Draw/Petrichor,' the Siri-delivered spoken word ambient-piano piece about a man who falls in love with the internet on 'The Man Who Married A Robot / Love Theme,' and the straight-up jazzy 'Mine' (featuring the late Roy Hargrove on trumpet). This isn't to say the album isn't consistent. On the contrary, the albums themes (through the lyricism of front-man Matty Healy) deal with love in all its forms, making and consuming music in 2018, and the infinitesimal details of social media etiquette. Limited Edition pressing on white 180g vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve. 15 tracks in all.

• indie exclusive white vinyl
• 180g vinyl
• printed lyric insert
• music label: Interscope Records 2018

reviewed by Ralphy Corduroy 1/2019