Dropping on June 1st, after an extensive countdown on social media, Give Yourself A Try from The 1975 arrives in an emo-fueled explosion, deviating them from the overly electronic pop rock sound that most listeners know them for. As the introduction to the Music For Cars era, this track harkens back to an age where bands explored extensively a post-grunge landscape and came up with all kinds of weird shit. There’s the same sense of freedom here that draws from artists like Ima Robot all the way to Get Up Kids.
The repetitive, squeaking guitar riff falls back on what The 1975 (or Drive Like I Do if you want me to get technical) were doing a lot in of those old bedroom recorded tracks. Is it too different from staples of theirs, like Sex or The Sound? No, musically it leans towards the older track and lyrically, it stays in the same vein of their biggest hit, self-critical and insightful into the very ego-centric world of Matty Healy, lyricist and singer of the band.
As always, he spits little one liners that are temporarily directed at the state of our culture and society, and then directly reverts his target inward again. Obviously, this song isn’t meant for pop radio like some of their past tracks, it’s for fans, kind of like a tell-all for anyone who is emotionally invested in the man behind it.
Matty aside, the rest of the band aren’t doing their most frilly work but they are holding their own by driving the quick pace as the vocals flow over in their signature nasal tone. Adam Hann, guitarist, shows off his own signature by adding flying, distorted ambience that lays low in particular parts of the track.
Hopefully in their next releases, we can see more of what the other musicians special, seeing that George Daniel is under showcased here, which could be disappointing considering the powerhouse that he is on a drum kit. But despite that, it’s a stan-worthy track that feeds the fans enough to tide them over til the entrée is served.