Well, they’ve done it again. Giving their fans a treat for their ears, the freshly-released track titled “Medicine” from the skyrocketing group from Manchester, England, The 1975, does not disappoint. With its slow intro building up into a celestial riff that only guitarist Adam Hann could create, you can’t help but sway along when Matt Healey’s voice drops in with his breathy swoons. A little slower than most of the singles off their self-titled debut album, “Medicine” wraps itself in the dichotomy of hope and lost love. According to their YouTube channel, this song was written especially for the Zane Lowe-curated restore of the movie Drive.
The single was released on Halloween of 2014 and soon received over two hundred thousand views on their YouTube channel. There is no doubt their fans and followers were stampeding to hear how the group contributed to the rescoring of the film.
Healy is no amateur when it comes to pleasing his fans. Matty has been known to give every piece of himself, especially at live shows.
The lyrics are simple at best, but in their simplicity, they capture a feeling reminiscent of bedroom eyes and sleepy sighs. Healy croons out mixed emotions such as “I find it hard to say bye-bye / even in the state of you and I / and how can I refuse / yeah you rid me of the blues,” describing this inner-turmoil of knowing it’s not right, but wanting it still. This is easily related to by young, hormonal teenage girls that want that kind of complex love affair with a tortured artist type. This song sounds like it was meant to appeal to a younger audience, much more so than the other songs on their album.
It’s slower beat, simple design, and extended instrumentals set a very calm, sedated mood. However, the instrumental outro lasts about three minutes too long, in my opinion. I prefer when the boys add a deeper story to their songs and build it up. This single isn’t unfulfilling, but as a personal listener, I would have wanted a little more.