A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
by The 1975
  • Record Label: Polydor
  • Release Date: Nov 30, 2018
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 294 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 246 out of 294
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 294
  3. Negative: 24 out of 294
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  1. CiphirSol
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one! This album is well-crafted and even funny in some places. It manages to stand out and have tonal consistency even with the experimental elements. Very good and a contender for any year-end list.
  2. joevelz
    Dec 3, 2018
    10
    A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is easily one of the best albums of 2018. The 1975 have constructed an album filled with pop rock hits that are infectious and memorable. You'll find yourself dancing to the first half of the album and crying through the second half. Its great blend of pop, rock, gospel and electronic is truly an example of their ambitious yet fantastical feet.
  3. zaimin92
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    "TOOGOODTOOGOODTOOGOOD". The album is highly experimental, bringing all the heavy issues yet the execution is simply delicate and easy to digest thanks to the superiority of the lyrics accompanied by the heavenly melodies. This is their world with their own rules, we are entities that follow the flow of their own melancholy. OK Computer of our generation some said, seems like a little bit"TOOGOODTOOGOODTOOGOOD". The album is highly experimental, bringing all the heavy issues yet the execution is simply delicate and easy to digest thanks to the superiority of the lyrics accompanied by the heavenly melodies. This is their world with their own rules, we are entities that follow the flow of their own melancholy. OK Computer of our generation some said, seems like a little bit exaggeration but seriously there's nothing to be ashamed of. Sincerity is Scary, I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) and Give Yourself A Try are the highlights of the album with all other tracks serving high replay value. ABIIOR is undoubtedly the definition of instant classic, period.… Expand
  4. ryanora
    Nov 10, 2019
    10
    Spectacular, magical and simply charming. The maturation throughout the discography of these talented artists is a true masterpiece.
  5. hcgfff
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    Podrá parecer pretencioso, si, pero es maravilloso desde donde sea que se mire, un álbum que sobresale de entre toda la escena rock cada vez más mezclada con sonidos pop con poco o nada que decir. The 1975 y este álbum, son algo distinto, a primera instancia es un disco de critica social, pero demuestra ser más que eso, se vuelve personal, es introspectivo, esa investigación online sePodrá parecer pretencioso, si, pero es maravilloso desde donde sea que se mire, un álbum que sobresale de entre toda la escena rock cada vez más mezclada con sonidos pop con poco o nada que decir. The 1975 y este álbum, son algo distinto, a primera instancia es un disco de critica social, pero demuestra ser más que eso, se vuelve personal, es introspectivo, esa investigación online se vuelve personal, Mattew y los chicos hacen que te importe realmente lo que había dejado de tener importancia: "nosotros mismo". Después de un año plagado de discos vacíos como "Origins" de la banda americana Imagine Dragons o "Simulation Theory" de Muse ( si, con grandes sonidos, pero no grandes palabras), o como el más temprano e insufrible "Pray for the Wicked" de lo que solía ser una de las bandas más vistosas de la década pasada (P!ATD), The 1975 nos ofrece algo fresco, algo que podemos sentir propio, algo que podría sentir cualquiera de nosotros siendo jóvenes en una era donde es más importante la cantidad de personas que te siguen en Instagram que la cantidad de personas con quien hablar de algo interesante.
    Somos nosotros la generación de las relaciones sentimentales (y sociales) con la velocidad de la red, rápidas e imperceptibles. Este álbum es una señal de "STOP" para todo aquel que lo escucha, intenta demostrar lo pudrición de la juventud y la sociedad desde un plano más terrenal —que mal abarcado seria algo sumamente mundano y despreciable— que lo he hecho por otras bandas con este tipo de álbumes.
    Este 30 de Noviembre de 2018 The 1975 ha confirmado lo que muchos decían y muchos ya sabíamos, son una banda con muchas cosas más importantes que decir, dicen adiós al glamour de una era musical pasada y es aquí donde "MFC" inicia tratando de salvar a todos los que se dejaron deslumbrar por la poesía de lo mundano, la poesía de los cigarrillos.
    The 1975 muestra su cara más importante desde aquel 2002 donde se reunieron por primera vez, es aquí donde me atrevo a nombrar a este álbum, "el mejor de la década (y, porque no de lo que llevamos del milenio)", este es el álbum que ha marcado el nombre THE1975 en el libro de la historia del rock, a partir de ahora todo es igualar y superar la calidad de este material, con lo que he escuchado, creo que esta banda lo lograra y sera un grito importante aun cuando otra generación halla llegado.    … Expand
  6. Masquic
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    It's an hour of pure perfection. Feelings, experiences, things you wanna say, do. You can experience a lot listening to it. It's just perfect and one of the best albums of the year and ever. Nothing to add.
  7. ArtCehViana
    May 21, 2020
    10
    2 years has pass, and I'm still obsessed with this album. It feels fresh still to this day.
  8. EduardoCardona
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    This album shows an amazing evolution from their previous work, this album is pretentious, smart, complex and it represents exactly the modernity we are living, that is the beauty of this album. Musically is beautiful and dense, but the best are the rich lyrics and concepts behind them packed in a concept album.
  9. Eltunas
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    There is one think you should be looking forward when you are making music, that's it sincerity and love and passion for what you do, this album got everything you want and it's the living image of the evolution of the band and matty.
  10. aliwonderland
    Dec 4, 2018
    10
    Their best album yet, all over the place yet cohesive. Songs like "i Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)" and Inside Your Mind are instantly classics.
  11. Truthkeeper
    Dec 4, 2018
    10
    No one has ever captured modern life quite as powerfully and with such complexity as the 1975 in their third album. While this is, undoubtedly, a warning about modern technology and the opioid epidemic, it's not altogether negative. Written by millennials, it has a certain positive undercurrent that previous such albums have totally lacked. You get the feeling that yes, there are problems.No one has ever captured modern life quite as powerfully and with such complexity as the 1975 in their third album. While this is, undoubtedly, a warning about modern technology and the opioid epidemic, it's not altogether negative. Written by millennials, it has a certain positive undercurrent that previous such albums have totally lacked. You get the feeling that yes, there are problems. But we solve those problems, and life is, as a whole, pretty good.… Expand
  12. lukejones
    Dec 11, 2018
    10
    The newest installment of 1975's trilogy of albums has finally been let out to the world this album does not disappoint and it is one of the bands best albums to date
    The album goes straight after the problems that the internet has brought up such as insecurity and depression
  13. mande77
    Dec 16, 2020
    10
    Possibly their best album to date, The 1975 brings a mostly new sound and some highly addictive tracks like “Give Yourself A Try”, “Sincerity is Scary”, “TOOTIME”, “Inside Your Mind”, the perfect “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)”, the BEST version of “The 1975”, and so many other great, great tracks. The weakest point is “How To Draw”.
  14. emilyc
    Sep 1, 2019
    10
    amazing lyrics and instrumentation but the production really pushes it over the edge and amazing album
  15. sugarcookie
    Sep 8, 2019
    10
    This album is good, but the past two albums were better due to their depression values. I felt that some songs in this album were a bit "meh" unlike the past two masterpiece albums. It's still a good album since TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME is on it, but it would have been better without autotune. The singles are great, but the rest of the album feels just "okay." The singles on this album didThis album is good, but the past two albums were better due to their depression values. I felt that some songs in this album were a bit "meh" unlike the past two masterpiece albums. It's still a good album since TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME is on it, but it would have been better without autotune. The singles are great, but the rest of the album feels just "okay." The singles on this album did predict my life though, so this is a sacred album for sure.… Expand
  16. ourendlesseason
    Dec 14, 2019
    10
    Come disse Lady Gaga: "talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique".
  17. xuli
    Dec 24, 2019
    10
    Amazing! One of my favorites albums of all the times. Thanks to this hard work and production I fell deeply in love with the idea of this band. Always in my heart
  18. stefranca
    Jan 11, 2020
    10
    the most wonderful thing i’ve ever heard in my life!! thanks the 1975 for this beautiful work.
  19. kevinanso
    Nov 24, 2020
    10
    Es el album con mas coherencia y con la mejor produccion de la banda hasta la fecha , es un juego de generos pero con una coherencia perfecta y un ambiente actual moderno, el album concluye con I ALWAYS WANNA DIE SOMETIMES de forma perfecta y la cancion recuerda mucho a Aerosmiths
  20. genhee1217
    Aug 28, 2023
    10
    21s Ok Computer. Fantastic, technical, innovative and attractive. Electronic music between pop songs enhances the album's completeness.
  21. Wael
    Nov 30, 2018
    9
    After the grand new-wave sound of their second LP "I like it when you sleep", The 1975, easily snatching their place as one of the most interesting bands out there today, are back with "A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships", which sounds both a lot more organic, and a lot more futuristic at the same time. It is a marvelous record to say the least, shifting gears and switching from oneAfter the grand new-wave sound of their second LP "I like it when you sleep", The 1975, easily snatching their place as one of the most interesting bands out there today, are back with "A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships", which sounds both a lot more organic, and a lot more futuristic at the same time. It is a marvelous record to say the least, shifting gears and switching from one style to another, all while remaining weirdly cohesive and well-arranged. The singles released prior to the album were all absolute smashes ("TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME" will be a huge favourite in their tour setlist, "Sincerity is Scary" has an amazing tune, and "Give Yourself a Try" and "Love It If We Made It" have some of the best lyrics Matty and co. have ever written). New songs are also diverse and well-made: "I Couldn't Be More In Love" has some kick-ass vocals, "I Like America" is electrifying and hard-core, and "Mine" is a throwback jazzy track about love and gratitude. The whole album is very well produced, alternating between vocoders and guitars and Matthew Healey's pure raw vocals, which makes it nothing less than an absolute success.… Expand
  22. Jgirello
    Dec 4, 2018
    9
    A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is a beautiful blend of many different inspirations from Bon Iver and Kanye West to John Coltrane. There's such a delicately beautiful blend of genres on this album that makes the album so complex. Songs that seem like simple love songs (see "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)") are actually songs that delve deep into front man Matty Healy'sA Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is a beautiful blend of many different inspirations from Bon Iver and Kanye West to John Coltrane. There's such a delicately beautiful blend of genres on this album that makes the album so complex. Songs that seem like simple love songs (see "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)") are actually songs that delve deep into front man Matty Healy's struggles with heroin addiction. There are so many moments on this album where musically you'll feel upbeat and happy but delving into the songwriting will show you how desperate, dark, and vulnerable the song is. The best song on the album is the closer, "I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)" which is one of those quickly timeless songs that can make you feel so good, but so sad at the same time. It's overall a beautiful piece of modern art that gives great critique and commentary on the society we live in today.… Expand
  23. sammyanthony
    Nov 30, 2018
    9
    Seems like The 1975 outburst their creativity after the detachment from their usual producer Mike Crossey. They've succeeded to push their limits once again, and like their previous album (but even better), they coalesced all those music precedents from their parents' generation and then portrayed for the relevance of today's context. A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships genuinelySeems like The 1975 outburst their creativity after the detachment from their usual producer Mike Crossey. They've succeeded to push their limits once again, and like their previous album (but even better), they coalesced all those music precedents from their parents' generation and then portrayed for the relevance of today's context. A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships genuinely answers about what it takes to live in this age as a millennial.… Expand
  24. Nicolas23
    Jan 24, 2019
    9
    Awesome
  25. DonovanAsbell
    Dec 4, 2018
    9
    Absolutely gorgeous album. My issue with the 1975 has always been them releasing great singles with rather boring albums (with a few decent deep-cuts). Self titled was over all good and "I like it..." could really bore me at times. Going into this album I was expecting the same. There were more great singles, but they were really all over the place stylistically. I was excited nonetheless.Absolutely gorgeous album. My issue with the 1975 has always been them releasing great singles with rather boring albums (with a few decent deep-cuts). Self titled was over all good and "I like it..." could really bore me at times. Going into this album I was expecting the same. There were more great singles, but they were really all over the place stylistically. I was excited nonetheless. I downloaded it as soon as it dropped and was extremely surprised from what i heard. This album explores many different genres from electropop to traditional jazz. Usually, this would be a weird thing to do for most bands. But there was a weird thing about this album- The 1975 made it work. "A brief Inquiry..." blends electropop, jazz, post-rock, and ambient to create a hauntingly beautiful album that makes us think about life in 2018. You could argue that this album was boring at times, but I would say that this album is just a slowburner most of the time. If you're going into this album wanting their sleek pop rock sound that the band has become known for, look to their other two albums. This is a different one, a more conscious album that is ushering in a new era for the band. I've been blown away every time I've listened to this album since it was released. This album might just cement The 1975 as the most important pop band of the decade.… Expand
  26. DRTJ
    Jul 24, 2020
    9
    Favorite track: "Love It If We Made It"
    Least favorite track: "Mine"
    Much like their second album, "A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships" tells a story from the point of The 1975's lead singer, Matty Healy. Instead of being deeply personal (although parts of it are), this third album explores politics and social issues on a grand scale of where we are heading as a society with our    Favorite track: "Love It If We Made It"
    Least favorite track: "Mine"

    Much like their second album, "A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships" tells a story from the point of The 1975's lead singer, Matty Healy. Instead of being deeply personal (although parts of it are), this third album explores politics and social issues on a grand scale of where we are heading as a society with our internet usage and diction when talking to others. And that's reflecting in the genre-bending, chaotic sounds produced. The stuttered opener (which the band uses for all their albums) rings with urgency this time around, before we dive into an irritating but very effective electric guitar riff straight from Joy Division's "Disorder." One minute the album is autotuned pop, the next minute it's classic rock. Then it goes acoustic, then it gets jazzy. Then we have a spoken-word poem about a man whose best friend is the internet. It goes on and on, and I can't get enough of it. If anyone ever doubted The 1975's musical versatility, then they should look no further than this album.    … Expand
  27. brockcheese
    Dec 6, 2018
    8
    Never thought that I would fall in love with a 1975 album but here we are. This album is by turns relevant and thought provoking while constantly invigorating itself with catchy pop tunes.
  28. Tatremy
    Nov 30, 2018
    8
    Easily their most well rounded work to date, as well as their most experimental. Matty Healy's wordplay remains unmatched as he continues to improve in writing and explore various topics outside of love, drugs, and sex, such as politics, societal issues, technology, the internet, etc.
    However, that doesn't compensate for the obvious misplacement of Give Yourself a Try & TOOTIME. These 2    Easily their most well rounded work to date, as well as their most experimental. Matty Healy's wordplay remains unmatched as he continues to improve in writing and explore various topics outside of love, drugs, and sex, such as politics, societal issues, technology, the internet, etc.
    However, that doesn't compensate for the obvious misplacement of Give Yourself a Try & TOOTIME. These 2 songs don't belong on the record in my opinion, especially the latter.    … Expand
  29. gobitoe
    Apr 22, 2022
    8
    The modern OK Computer.

    Talks about real issues, The music is good. The album isn't too long. There is a good balance between experimental / pop / alt-rock. One of my favourites of 2018.
  30. All_ButTrU4
    Nov 20, 2021
    8
    Punctuated by the leads return to rehab in the throes of addiction the 1975 third album bursted out as jaded as it's frontman. A maximalist amalgamation of inspirations from the bon iver adjacent delivery on "be by mistake " or one if the many Radiohead indept "i always want to die (sometimes)". The latter being one of the lyrical highlights "(But your death it won't happen to you / ItPunctuated by the leads return to rehab in the throes of addiction the 1975 third album bursted out as jaded as it's frontman. A maximalist amalgamation of inspirations from the bon iver adjacent delivery on "be by mistake " or one if the many Radiohead indept "i always want to die (sometimes)". The latter being one of the lyrical highlights "(But your death it won't happen to you / It happens to your family and your friends)" exploding into an arena ready chorus. But the second track which truly opens up the song is one of the best displays of Healy's spectacular songwriting as he biographically riffs on himself and tells us how it's never over. Despite how specific the subjects of fame might be its still a universal topic of self destruction but never does he fall into self pity or pointing fingers just a sincere confession. It's things like that that anchor the album. Filled with black humour and straightforward quips and enough experiments to keep it intresting such as the ok computer coldness of "The Man Who Married a Robot ". The heartbreaking "sincerity is scary " is a frank break between people who haven't lost love for each other
    This is honestly their magnum opus.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Most Discussed Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 29
  3. Negative: 1 out of 29
  1. PopMatters
    Jan 14, 2019
    50
    Even as only the first half of a delayed double album, A Brief Inquiry already feels like a classically bloated example of the form.
    Read full review
  2. Uncut
    Jan 2, 2019
    70
    Multidimensional. ... This rotating playlist of styles and sincerity will rankle with some--it's very earnest about addiction, love and our internet selves--but rather that than banal conformity. [Feb 2019, p.23]
  3. Under The Radar
    Dec 17, 2018
    85
    You may feel the urge to dismiss them as pretentious or pompous, but if you can resist that impulse, A Brief Inquiry... soon reveals itself to be full of genuine heart, intelligence and wit. This is a band who want to be the best of their generation. They might not be there yet, but it is incredible to hear them come close.
    Read full review
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