Meaning of “Sincerity Is Scary” by The 1975

“Sincerity Is Scary” is a song performed by the Brit Award winning English band The 1975. Lyrically, the narrator is reflecting on communication in present-day society and how it sadly tends to place irony before important things such as candidness, honesty and sincerity. Simply put, this song is talking about how these days many feel scared to be sincere.

“And irony is okay, I suppose, culture is to blame
You try and mask your pain in the most postmodern way”

Speaking with New Zealander DJ/music producer Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio during the song’s premiere, Matty Healy (lead vocalist of the band) shed more light on the song’s lyrics. According to Healy, the lyrics are about his attempts “to denounce all of that postmodern fear of like being real”.

Here is Healy’s full statement about the meaning of this song:

Facts about “Sincerity Is Scary”

• “Sincerity Is Scary” was written by Healy and the other members of The 1975 (Adam Hann, George Daniel and Ross MacDonald).
• The song’s production was handled by Healy and Daniel. On September 13th, 2018, the song received its official premiere on Beats 1 Radio.
• This tune is one of the singles from the band’s third studio album titled A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. The single “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You)” also appears on that album.
• The song’s title doesn’t appear in the lyrics.
• This is one of The 1975’s few songs not to be produced by their longtime collaborator British music producer Mike Crossey. As a matter of fact all the songs on the album A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships were produced solely by band members Healy and Daniel.

Listen to the official audio of the track below. It was published on YouTube on September 13th, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyaHjtAr960

Does “Sincerity Is Scary” sample any song(s)?

No, it doesn’t.

Who sings the background vocals on this track?

The track’s backing vocals were sung by the noted London Community Gospel Choir. The choir also provided backing vocals on another track (“Love It If We Made It”) on the album.

Didn’t Mike Crossey play any role in the creation of the song?

Crossey wasn’t totally left out of the creation of this song since he served as the album’s mixing engineer.

Did The 1975 shoot a video for  this song?

Yes. The official music video for “Sincerity Is Scary” premiered on YouTube on November 21, 2018. You can view it below: