Notes on a Conditional Form
by The 1975
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 200 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 132 out of 200
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 200
  3. Negative: 31 out of 200
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  1. gobitoe
    May 22, 2020
    6
    Don't get me wrong; this album is not terrible in any way. I think the main problem with this album is the lack of balance between the tracks. The mixing is uneven, you have a lot of filler instrumental tracks (which again, aren't horrible on their own, they just don't fit the general style).

    This album is all over the place, it takes you from punk to indie, to disco back to    Don't get me wrong; this album is not terrible in any way. I think the main problem with this album is the lack of balance between the tracks. The mixing is uneven, you have a lot of filler instrumental tracks (which again, aren't horrible on their own, they just don't fit the general style).

    This album is all over the place, it takes you from punk to indie, to disco back to alternative, etc. You can't sit down and enjoy the record for more than 2 tracks before it starts throwing your mind around left and right not giving you time to take in whatever is happening, and with the mixing being awkward I found myself changing the volume through the album a lot.

    With their last record, I feel like they had struck a perfect balance of their alt-rock/pop/instrumental formula. The album would pick back up on boring moments, and wasn't so messy. This album is very long, the tracks don't fit well with one another, almost as if they wanted this to be a double album, but they rushed into packing all of these ideas into one.

    I understand they most likely have contracts to respect, but I would have cut about half of the album and released later as an EP or something else, not as a 22 track album.

    Overall, this album will just be a "spawn" for fans to add songs to their playlists, and forget about the rest.

    tl;dr - The songs are good , but the album pretty much serves no purpose and is very messy.    … Expand
  2. Projectmayhem
    May 22, 2020
    5
    At this point in time I’ve listened to the entire “The 1975” catalogue, with 2016’s I Like It When You Sleep being one of my all time favorite albums. Notes On A Conditional Form is unlike every other album the band has made in that a quarter of the tracks aren’t needed and it makes the album feel bloated and longer than it needs to be. Songs like “Yeah I know” and “Shiny Collarbone” areAt this point in time I’ve listened to the entire “The 1975” catalogue, with 2016’s I Like It When You Sleep being one of my all time favorite albums. Notes On A Conditional Form is unlike every other album the band has made in that a quarter of the tracks aren’t needed and it makes the album feel bloated and longer than it needs to be. Songs like “Yeah I know” and “Shiny Collarbone” are great beats with lackluster feeing (even by 1975 standards) with one line repeated over and over. Ambient Interludes or instrumentals have been a 1975 staple but, in the past those interludes felt needed to convey feeling or connect 2 songs but on this album most of them feel like they were made just to be made, to fill the album out. The album feels rushed or it leaves you with that feeling because it’s all over the place, lacking direction of what the album wants to be. Most of the singles including “The Birthday Party” (probably my favorite song of theirs on any album) and “If You’re Too Shy” are true hits but the rest of the album doesn’t standout from those initial singles. This leaves me with the feeling that a quarter of the album could of been scrapped and it should of been 13-14 songs. The intro track “The 1975” does not start the album well for me. It’s a speech from Greta Thunberg about the fallout of the global warming crisis we’re all facing. I’m a huge advocate for the environment but it just doesn’t seem to fit the album or feel right to start the album with Greta’s long winded speech. When replaying the album I often skip this track, track 2 “People” and track 3 “The End” It just feels like it’s not the right start, starting the album instead on track 4 “Frail State of Mind”. Some tracks show promise and push the band in a new direction like “Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied” a brutally honest slow rap that has a great gospel-like chorus but again it feels out of place when listening to the 2 or 3 tracks before it and the tracks after it “Tonight” and “Shiny Collarbone” 2 tracks I feel weren't needed at all.

    I feel like this album either should of been worked on longer with more thought put into the direction and the message they wanted to convey or I could also see the album being released earlier with 7-9 less songs with what happened being that they just kept adding songs because they made them. The album has some great songs but it’s just not cohesive with the others. In the past, The 1975 have created albums that everyone should listen to because of how well they produce, how great they are at stringing songs together track to track and their ability to convey important messages. Whether it be about coming of age or the social anxieties we all face including ones with technology. I don’t feel like this album is good enough to say that about. 5/10    … Expand
  3. Ben_Ross
    May 22, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The singles were so good! What happened?!?!? There is a lot of filler (which is unnecessary because there are 22 songs, which means that there is room scrap some things) I was kinda bored while listening to the album. And NOTHING IS COHESIVE!! don’t get me wrong! I really enjoy about half of the album, I just think they should’ve spent a little bit more time on this project because there are some really good songs... like all of the singles. So yeah, 5/10.… Expand
  4. Ricko
    Aug 26, 2020
    6
    You can't fault The 1975 for ambition. I have to say, this is a decent enough listen, swinging from spoken word, to light industrial rock, from pseudo classical to straight up electro pop. For all its pomp and grandeur, it is questionable whether the album actually achieves anything and its certainly not as good as the band almost certainly thinks it is. The band spends minimal time onYou can't fault The 1975 for ambition. I have to say, this is a decent enough listen, swinging from spoken word, to light industrial rock, from pseudo classical to straight up electro pop. For all its pomp and grandeur, it is questionable whether the album actually achieves anything and its certainly not as good as the band almost certainly thinks it is. The band spends minimal time on particular ideas without developing them satisfactorily. It isn't bad at all but Coldplay's "Everyday Life" from last year is a superior version of what is attempted here.… Expand
  5. brendan_jwhite
    May 22, 2020
    6
    An interesting blend of the usual 1975 fare with a diversion into garage/house. There's some usual 1975 fare (Roadkill) with instrumentals such as Having No Head which feels like the soundtrack to Uncut Gems, but unfortunately a lot of the instrumentals feel repetitive and lack meaning. Definitely the beautiful mess as many describe with a track listing that is all over the place as it'sAn interesting blend of the usual 1975 fare with a diversion into garage/house. There's some usual 1975 fare (Roadkill) with instrumentals such as Having No Head which feels like the soundtrack to Uncut Gems, but unfortunately a lot of the instrumentals feel repetitive and lack meaning. Definitely the beautiful mess as many describe with a track listing that is all over the place as it's far too long shifting to too many genres and moods at one time but it's still worth a listen.… Expand
  6. petrichor1975
    May 22, 2021
    6
    The fourth full-length release from The 1975 sees them explore house music, orchestral soundtracks, and acoustic ballads. It comes about a-year-and-a-half after their third album, "A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships", which was my second favorite album from the group.

    I personally wasn't too enthralled by the singles that were released to promote the album. I thought "People",    The fourth full-length release from The 1975 sees them explore house music, orchestral soundtracks, and acoustic ballads. It comes about a-year-and-a-half after their third album, "A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships", which was my second favorite album from the group.

    I personally wasn't too enthralled by the singles that were released to promote the album. I thought "People", "Me & You Together Song", and "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) were great songs, but the singles felt haphazardly released.

    This theme of haphazardness runs through the album. I found the opening ambient "The 1975" to be nice, but perhaps a bit too long. The whole album itself is too long. Twenty-two tracks is way too long for what this album ends up being. "People" is a sudden change of pace to hard-hitting punk. However, I find the two orchestra interludes after the first few tracks are not the most substantive. They sound beautiful, but what purpose do they serve? That isn't clear.

    Other tracks come and go. The UK garage anthem, "Frail State of Mind" is a peak into singer Matty Healy's psyche as well as the folk-driven tune, "The Birthday Party". Nevertheless, I find some of the next few songs to be not as entertaining. "Then Because She Goes" does not really hold my attention and "Roadkill" has the same effect on me.

    "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" is one of the more accessible songs on the album with Phoebe Bridgers contributing her lush vocals to the track. "I Think There's Something You Should Know"' and "Yeah I Know" are also entertaining with their trippy drum machines and modular synths driving the track.

    But "Notes On A Conditional Form" really falls flat on cohesion. This feels less like an album and more like a playlist, and perhaps that's the point. However, The 1975 have always been known for their cohesion, even in long-winded albums like 2016's "I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It". Songs like "Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied" and "Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) start off promising but end up chasing other ideas than those that were originally introduced.

    "Shiny Collarbone" and "Having No Head" are other examples of the group choosing quantity over quality. The house & garage musical motifs have already made themselves present, but the group knows how to double down on those sounds and make it feel less special than it originally felt.

    Not all is lost, however. There are some highlights in the latter half of "Notes". The 80s synthpop tune, "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)" is one of the band's finest moments thus far. It recalls the sounds of their first two records. "What Should I Say" is groovy fun while "Don't Worry" and "Guys" can make you cry and call your friends.

    "Notes On A Conditional Form" is definitely a unique and ambitious album by The 1975. However, its ambition itself is its main downfall. If the album were cut eight songs shorter then there might be more cohesion. Nonetheless, there are some great highlights in this album from the English group.    … Expand
  7. sugarcookie
    Jun 20, 2020
    5
    This album is woof woof compared to every other album they've made. Some songs are straight up unlistenable. The singles were the only decent songs on the album. The only non-single songs that don't sound awful are What Should I say, Yeah I Know, I Think There's Something You Should Know. I can't permasimp for a band that can't make decent new music anymore, so this album sucks.
  8. RageNate
    May 31, 2020
    5
    Worthies (10/22):
    - People
    - Then Because She Goes
    - Me & You Together Song
    - I Think There's Something You Should Know
    - Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied
    - Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)
    - Shiny Collarbone
    - If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)
    - What Should I Say
    - Guys
  9. itsallindie
    May 31, 2020
    5
    urgh - it feels like they literally put everything they wrote in the sessions for this album, into the album itself. 22 tracks is far too much, if it was more towards the style of "Frail State of Mind" / "Yeah I Know" / "I Think There's Something You Should Know" and so on... then it would actually be one of my top 5 albums of the past two years.

    There's now flow here, the genres chop    urgh - it feels like they literally put everything they wrote in the sessions for this album, into the album itself. 22 tracks is far too much, if it was more towards the style of "Frail State of Mind" / "Yeah I Know" / "I Think There's Something You Should Know" and so on... then it would actually be one of my top 5 albums of the past two years.

    There's now flow here, the genres chop and chop too much for my liking, if they released 12 tracks, then another 10 as a 'bonus edition' fans would love it, but 22 for me was overkill.    … Expand
  10. Chris182
    Apr 25, 2021
    4
    Very disappointing and is easily the most pretentious, bloated and mindless album they have released to date. While this is their worst album, it is far from unredeemable since there are some decent songs on this thing (also a whole lotta bad). You and Me is easily one of the best songs of the year and People is a total blast to listen to. Almost all of thier interlude/ instrumental songsVery disappointing and is easily the most pretentious, bloated and mindless album they have released to date. While this is their worst album, it is far from unredeemable since there are some decent songs on this thing (also a whole lotta bad). You and Me is easily one of the best songs of the year and People is a total blast to listen to. Almost all of thier interlude/ instrumental songs are completely boring and unecessary. They try out so many different ideas on this album but never nurture them, leaving us with 80 minutes of songs that feel like after thoughts to the band. Hopefully they can follow through with a cohesive album for their next release.
    Best Songs: People, Then because she goes, Me and You (Together Song), I Think There is Ssomething You Should Know, Roadkill
    Worst Songs: Yeah I Know (Their Worst Songs), The Birthday Party, Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America, Frail State of Mind, Shiny Collerbone, You're Too Shy Let Me Know, What Should I Say, Bagsy Not in Net    … Expand
  11. j444cks
    Mar 2, 2023
    6
    Not a bad album, just not for me [as a long time fan]. Felt too detached from their first few albums. I can definitely see the appeal though and enjoyed the tour!

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Most Discussed Album of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Aug 3, 2020
    60
    A Brief Inquiry is a hard album to top, and Notes is, perhaps, the most disjointed and unclassifiable of the 1975’s works. It serves best, perhaps, as a long and intermittently lovely outro to that defining record.
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  2. No Ripcord
    Jun 16, 2020
    60
    Notes on a Conditional Form is a fantastic 12 track, 45-minute album. It’s just a shame that The 1975 decided to make it into a 22 track, 80 minute one. There’s certainly enough going on to recommend repeat listens, but the quality level waxes and wanes so much throughout that it won’t take you too long to find your favorites and start returning to just those.
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  3. Beats Per Minute
    May 27, 2020
    77
    The diversity is so vast and so well done that it’s almost commendable. Mainly though, it’s just a bit much for one sitting, and instead feels more like you’re listening to The 1975 radio on Spotify.
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