I remember it well—the eve of Spring Break 2013, driving to O’Hare International Airport to fly to the Caribbean, and a new song comes on the radio. Much like when I heard Imagine Dragons for the first time, I knew that Chocolate by The 1975 would be a big hit... but no one knew or cared about it just yet.
I listened to Chocolate for the entirety of my stay on the island, which was a good ten days. I even downloaded the song in the car (using my precious phone data) because I knew that I would want to listen to it not only on the plane, but everywhere else and more. That song defined Spring Break for me like only a few other songs before it.
As my friends will attest, what followed can only be described as an obsession. Later that year, I went to see them live in concert, and I bought a signed copy of their CD that would sit in the deck of my car for the entire first year of college. In the beginning, none of my friends even knew a word. By the end, they each could sing along to every track and even had favorite songs of their own.
The 1975 has an ability to embody a feeling through their music, which is something not many bands can do. Chocolate is for happy days flooded with sunlight. Girls is for bumping around town with your girlfriends (duh). Menswear is for late nights full of deep thoughts and feelings.
This album defined everything about my freshman year at college, and now it’s going to carry over into my first summer as a legal adult. These songs will keep playing in my car and in my life until the day I die.
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