For 2022's Being Funny In A Foreign Language, long-lived English art-popsters the 1975 decided to behave like the band they'd been for 20 years at that point and capture themselves playing together as a band in the studio rather than cobbling their songs together using electronics.

"Play it and record it," was the overarching motto. "Real instruments." 

And it worked. The 1975's fifth album was received by many as its best yet, praising it for putting a slightly more organic and propulsive '80s shimmer behind hyper-iiterate frontman Matty Healy's unapologetically romantic -- albeit often quite funny -- wordsmithery. Ubiquitous producer (and frequent Taylor Swift/Lorde collaborator) Jack Antonoff deserves some credit, too, for coaxing these bright, immediate performances from the quartet at the two-decade mark, a point in some band's lifespans where things can start getting a little stale. The public concurred with the critics, embracing a whopping seven singles -- including "Part Of The Band," "Happiness" and future wedding ballad "I'm In Love With You" -- from a record composed of only 11 tracks and making it the fifth straight 1975 album to top the charts in the U.K. These cats just make likeable tunes. Whaddaya gonna do?

TRACKLISTING:

1 The 1975
2 Happiness
3 Looking for Somebody (To Love)
4 Part of the Band
5 Oh Caroline
6 I'm in Love With You
7 All I Need to Hear
8 Wintering
9 Human Too
10 About You
11 When We Are Together