| "The Birthday Party" | ||||
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| Single by the 1975 | ||||
| from the album Notes on a Conditional Form | ||||
| Released | 19 February 2020 | |||
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| Length | 4:38 | |||
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| The 1975 singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "The Birthday Party" on YouTube | ||||
"The Birthday Party" is a song by English band the 1975 from their fourth studio album, Notes on a Conditional Form (2020). The song was released on 19 February 2020 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records as the fourth single from the album. It was written by band members Matty Healy, George Daniel, Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald, while production of the song was handled by Daniel and Healy. Contributions are featured from Bob Reynolds, who plays the alto and tenor saxophone, and Rashawn Ross, who plays the trumpet and flugelhorn. The brass arrangements were composed by John Waugh, who performs the saxophone alongside Reynolds and Ross. The song originated from a jam session in Los Angeles, California, and was intended to be released as the lead single from the album, ultimately being replaced by "People" (2019).
"The Birthday Party" is an acoustic-driven folk and country ballad. The instrumentation blends gentle guitars, hazy drums, a lazy mid-tempo drum groove, flickering banjos, a xylophone and orchestral flourishes. In addition to the main genres, the song also draws from Britpop, electronic music, Americana, indie pop and country rock. It has an unconventional song structure, omitting a chorus in favour of a conversational, spoken word stream of consciousness delivery. The lyrics follow Healy's mundane experiences at a house party, recounting a series of awkward and uninteresting encounters he has with the other guests. Thematically, the song explores society's relationship with intoxication, the challenges of sobriety and issue avoidance.
"The Birthday Party" received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Praise was directed at the vulnerable lyrics and sonic experimentation, with some reviewers deeming it a highlight of Notes on a Conditional Form. Others were more negative, particularly about a line in the song that references allegations of sexual coercion levied against Pinegrove frontman Evan Stephens Hall. Commercially, the song achieved moderate success on worldwide music charts. It peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, number 27 on the New Zealand Hot Singles chart, number 69 on the UK Singles Chart and number 86 in Ireland. An accompanying animated music video, directed by Ben Ditto and Jon Emmony, was released on 19 February 2020. The video follows Healy's journey through Mindshower—a digital detox centre—as he encounters various internet memes in a forest. The visual was well-received by critics, with Pitchfork including it on their 20 Best Music Videos of 2020 list.