Since the release of their self-titled debut in 2013, the British pop band, The 1975, have been labeled many things: groundbreaking, pretentious, original, sellouts, bland, iconic.All of these titles are warranted. Frontman Matty Healy has always been candid about his rampant egotism – and yet his lyrics are some of the most honest and gripping the industry has seen since (hot take) Leonard Cohen himself.

“A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships,” which dropped last Friday, is The 1975’s best and most ambitious record to date. It refines the experimental sounds introduced in their last album, “I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It” (which, yeah, *rolls eyes in Pop-Rock*), to make a much more cohesive, less exhausting work of art.

Shortened song lengths, more introspective and political lyrics, and a notable spike in confidence on a sonic level contribute to an experience that just… works.

“A Brief Inquiry” begins as every album by The 1975 does: with their minute and a half-long song, “The 1975.” This album’s take on “The 1975” is its most avant-garde: a quiet grand piano coupled with vocals recorded through a grating vocoder weaved between prolonged periods of silence. As always, it sets the tone thematically for what is to come – self-important sensuality. “Step into your skin, I’d rather jump in your bones,” Healy admits. “Taking up your mouth so you’ll breathe through your nose.”

Interestingly enough, much of the record isn’t so one-dimensional. “Give Yourself a Try,” the second song on the tracklist, showcases Healy’s most self-aware musings as he discusses aging and fame to a driving drum loop and melodic lo-fi guitar reminiscent of New Order. “I found a grey hair in one of my zoots / Like context in a modern debate, I just took it out,” Healy states, summoning allusions to fake news in a supposedly “post-truth” world.

These fake news allusions become blatant in “Love It If We Made It,” when Healy shouts: “‘I moved on her like a bitch!’ / Excited to be indicted / …‘Thank you Kanye, very cool!’ / The war has been incited.” The quotes provided were famously uttered by President Trump, and their usage adds fuel to the tensions brought on by the chaotic political climate described throughout the song to make The 1975’s most emotionally charged song yet.

The two aforementioned songs feature the majority of politically inspired lyrics; for the most part, the remainder of the songs mark a return to the expected.

“TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME” is a playful dancehall tune that depicts Healy trying to console a furious partner: “I only called her one time / Maybe it was two times / I don’t think it was three times / It can’t be more than four times.”

“A Brief Inquiry” features some instrumental tracks (cut down in number and length, thank god, compared to the last album), but the most surprising, unique song is “The Man Who Married A Robot / Love Theme.” In it, Siri tells the tale of a man’s deeply personal relationship with the Internet that like Spike Jonze’s Her is surprisingly emotional, which is then followed by the “Love Theme,” a stirring orchestral piece.

Of course, this is not a perfect album. Following in the steps of its predecessors, “A Brief Inquiry” is limited by the amount of songs in its tracklist. Of the fifteen tracks, three (at least) should have been cut. “Mine” is straight trash, presenting Healy’s songwriting abilities at their worst as he struggles to list out all of the words in the English language that use an “-ine” sound and pairs them with cocktail hour jazz instrumentals that feel completely out of place.

That being said, the pros of this record far outweigh the cons. “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships” is The 1975’s most creative effort yet and (change my mind) its most accessible – certain to sit well with fans both old and new – proving The 1975 have yet to lose momentum in their journey to the top.

Rating: 8.5/10