The veil of anonymity works for acts like the Weeknd and Burial, for whom emotional or sonic dehumanization is a major part of their musical appeal. But when Manchester’s the 1975—then known as the Slowdown—dropped “Sex” last year with no contact info whatsoever, I immediately had two thoughts. The first was, “Someone still makes music like this?” The second was, “How exactly are they supposed to score a record deal?” since “Sex” was a suspiciously slick, born-ready anthem that was simply waiting for a stadium to fill.
The 1975 have since revealed their names, started a Twitter account, and gone legit with their first EP, Facedown. They’re still a band graced with a gift for heart-on-sleeve theatrics but an unsteady hand at presentation. The title track is a fine intro, a wash of ambient guitar and low, patient harmonies that usually herald a band’s “atmospheric” second LP. It leads into “The City,” where drum machines are maxed out, confidently thumping like the best Big Pink singles do, adding a preternatural ability to be unimpressed with the possibilities of a night out.
Rather than building on “The City”’s momentum, the EP’s second half tacks on two consecutive ballads, the overall torch song-to-burner ratio on Facedown settling at an unwise 3:1. It starts to feel like less of a complete statement than a version of the 1975’s potential debut where the singles went missing. “Antichrist” has ambition but only a vague sense of what it's reaching for, and you can get away with leaning on a word like “capricious” in a hollowed-out showstopper if you’re Brett Anderson. Murky closer “Woman” makes it clear that the 1975 shouldn’t feel any rush to grow up, at least not if it means edging towards Jeff Buckley worship as they do here.
It’s a muddle, but a promising one, hence why having background information on the 1975 works in their favor—they’ve been playing together for a decade, and each member is between the age of 20 and 21. It makes sense that they’re musically together, but still grasping for their sense of self. Facedown to a certain extent proves “Sex” wasn’t a fluke, but all the attendant trappings of being the 1975 are still yet to be sorted out; they spent 2011 trying to fool us and they’ll continue to be a band worth checking for if they decide not to fool themselves.
