The heated surroundings eventually spill into the realm of human interaction. Everyone is practically melting from temperature-induced lethargy at the end of every take, Daniel immediately disrobes as much as possible to cool off, and even the three-minute walk to the catering pavilion feels like a slog through a vat of chowder. The stunts and potentially murderous robotics go off without a hitch, but the fear of long-term obliteration is nonetheless at the forefront as the day’s heat rages on. “I’m probably less excited to do this than you are to see me do this,” he cracks to me, with a touch of nerves. The screens display oft-gruesome imagery practically mainlined from the internet’s darkest, trolliest recesses, and the day-long shoot includes a fast-paced robotic camera that has the capacity to literally kill someone if they get too close to it - not to mention a harnessed, upside-down Healy, swinging to and fro as the crew frantically tries to capture the perfect shot while the blood rushes to his brain. The “People” video is nothing if not ambitious, as the band thrashes in an eyeball-burning box constructed of video screens not unlike the glass-cage performance captured in “The Sound,” an anthemic single from The 1975’s 2016 sophomore bow I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it. There’s a good reason why defying death is on Healy’s mind. We’re amidst a cavernous soundstage tucked within Black Island Studios in North Acton, where Daniel, frontman Matty Healy, bassist Ross MacDonald, and guitarist Adam Hann are hard at work shooting the video for Notes’ second single, “ People” - a searing, aggressive blast of capital-R rock music, as Healy screams about legal weed and a generation that “wanna fuck Barack Obama” before landing on a decidedly radio-unfriendly chorus: “Stop fucking with the kids.” “My mom texted me to say the new song isn’t a bop,” drummer George Daniel laughs. “We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis,” she states plainly but purposefully, ending on a literal rallying cry: “It is now time for civil disobedience. This time, the theme is nowhere to be found, replaced by a nearly five-minute monologue from 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg over subtle strings and tinkling piano. Since their self-titled 2013 debut, every 1975 full-length has opened with an intro track named as such, featuring a variation on a hushed, soothing musical motif. The night before, the British pop-rock phenoms released “The 1975,” the opening track and first single from their forthcoming fourth album, Notes on a Conditional Form. By the end of the day, a similar heatwave smashes high-temp records in France, the Netherlands, and Germany - incontrovertible proof of climate change’s perpetually worsening effects, and an unfortunate stroke of perfect timing for the release of The 1975’s new single.
It’s July 25, 2019, and the entirety of England is currently in the throes of the hottest day in the country’s history, the final high for the day topping off at 38.7 degrees Celsius (that’s 101.6 Fahrenheit for the North American readers).