Declan is one of those musicians who has been on the edge of my radar for a while but not quite in my circle enough for me to actively recognise any other songs of his, that is until now. I had 'The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home' in my stop motion playlist for a long old time before I realised it was the same guy as 'Beautiful Faces' which I was obsessed with for a while. It was then a case of following on Instagram and hoping for music on the same level to which for a little while I was disappointed, but that's only because I'm a moron.
I caught a snippet of 'The Key to Life on Earth' during his PR and I was immediately like nah not my style. What a shame, out we go. And just like that, apart from two songs, I cut the man from my listening sphere. Clearly I was wrong, can we just note that for a minute? I was very wrong. It wasn't until a good few months later when I realised I can listen to music at work that I got stuck for things to actually listen to, so I decided to give some musicians the benefit of the doubt in case I came across my new favorite. (Fun story, I had done this the week before and become enamored with the song Turn by The Wombats)
So I gave Declan another chance and realised my huge mistake! 'The Key to Life on Earth' is actually one of my favourite songs from the new album which dropped on the 4th of September. I'll discuss why when we get there on the track listing.
So onto the actual song by song review then, much like I did with Folklore I will be talking about songs individually and then rounding it up at the end.
So first we have 'You Better Believe!!!':
I was really surprised with this first track, I won't lie to you. I came into this thinking on the new album I'm not going to like anything bar the singles already released. Wrong again kiddo, don't think before you listen. That's actually really good advice for any walk of life so keep that in mind.
This song is super upbeat, and typically indie. I've been seeing some interviews with Mr McKenna recently and he's spoken about being influenced by David Bowie and the like, and being a huge fan of Bowie myself I instantly recognised the connection in some of his previous works. The influence is heavy man. I also really like the space theme they both adopted. Bowie was an otherworldly being and it's like his ghost lives on to direct Declan as I honestly just see stars every time I listen to either of them. It's an out of body experience I have come to love.
That point was probably best saved for the next song and you'll see why in a minute, but it's too late for that now. Another artist that I've drawn connections too isn't actually one Declan has drawn his own comparison toward. I'm a big fan of Catfish & The Bottlemen and the opening verse just reminds me so much of Van McCann, it's probably just because they were both influenced by the same people on their road to stardom but goodness me.
To the actual song then, I fully imagine driving around country roads as I do, with this blasting through my speakers. It's an excellent release song, full of anguish and young adult randomness. 'to buy a bag of Quavers and Nike trainers' that is a brilliant line as out of context you are just like right ok, bit weird to sing about, but in the nature of the song it's a relation point. Be yourself unforgivingly is what I like to relate to this song.
'You're an astronaut':
I really don't know why but when the piano changes for a mini riff (I am so bad with terminology, I'm so sorry) really remind me of one of those old school films where they go out and do a comedy dance on stage. More specifically I picture Frankenstein's Monster from Young Frankenstein doing it.
Also In terms of the piano, especially on the opening, does anyone remember that cartoon from like the 70s called Jamie and the Magic Torch? If you are all my age I suppose not, not many 20-somethings do. But anyway just the opening bit on this song reminds me of the opening of the theme tune!
Another thing seemingly adopted from Bowie is the characters, either that or I am really naive and Daniel is a real person, like when Van sings about Larry. I just assumed Daniel was another persona, like Ziggy, and gave this ethereal aspect.
I really like the mash of different music changes and melodies throughout this song, we chop and change to key in emotion and I think that's really clever and something Bowie did on some of my favourite songs. It's almost unfair to compare Declan to someone else because the point of this is I want to convey how good he is, but to do that I guess I have to sell it to ya based off other artists.
'The Key to Life on Earth':
So two things to mention before I go into this song. My favourite lyrics are 'the boy you loved in spring' and the little wavy voice thing during 'spring' I think it's beautiful and that one line conducts so much sadness within me that I can't stop thinking about it. The second is again a lyric I adore, 'come work in Sainsbury's babe until you've had enough', that is such a typical British idiom that it makes me laugh. The majority of our generation has been stuck in a shop as almost a time filler before we decide what we want to do next. We need money to survive so go to Sainsburys (other shops are available) for a job before we move on to adulthood. My life filler was The Range, I worked there for about a year before moving on, the only good thing that came out of it was I made some brilliant friends.
So back to the song then, I feel like this is almost a coming of age anthem. It's edgy, and sad, but motivational and oddly satisfying. It shows that Declan has a talented range and that's something. I just want to mention here as well, despite the music video being really good for this one already, I fell asleep listening to this song and for some reason pictured a really strange scene which I want to share. I'm sure if he wanted to this dream sequence could feature in another song, but it was basically a case of someone looking at him upon a cliff top and then it goes all hazy and he's dressed like a superhero and then it switches and he pictures the other person as just a sidekick, but then something happens to him and the sidekick saves him so the roles as switched, the sidekick then sees him dressed as a damsel and he sees them as a hero. In reality they are just ordinary teenagers in a dream world. It makes more sense when you picture it. Maybe I'll edit that out later...
Beautiful Faces:
So as previously mentioned, I became obsessed with this song when I first came across it on MTV Rocks and then again on Sunday Brunch. It's a head banger, and I love the unexplainable dance vibes I get along with it. Whenever we hit the line 'put your hands up' I get this urge to do exactly that, but I guess that's the magic of music.
I had so hoped this would be the most popular song on the album, I want this one to blow up and be played everywhere so then at least a small portion of my otherworldly song choices have become mainstream. I know that's selfish but I don't care.
I don't have much to say on this one as the lyrics aren't all that relatable in my viewpoint, it's a stand against filters and shizzle but other than that it's just an excellent song!
Daniel, You're Still A Child:
I like that this one has an entire story to it. I don't know how Daniel went from being an Astronaut to spending 10 years in prison but I need some context. I think there should be more songs that have a fairytale quality, well maybe not folktale but at least a narrative to kick things off. There's too many songs nowadays that throw out tropes about sex and drugs and not so much rock and roll anymore. But none that educate you or take you on a journey when you listen. I miss that.
I came across another interview during this week (I started this review on release day and have been chipping away at it as work as been super busy) and Dec was talking about the pressure for artists to release new music willy nilly (or something to that effect), and how gone are the days where an artist would spend a couple of years producing something special. Based on this I just want to throw my hat into the ring, I completely agree and I hope I speak for others here as well, but I would much rather have a well thought out, spectacular album that I can look forward to, rather than several mediocre songs sprung out just to stay relevant. Sometimes it is a little frustrating when you wait forever for new music, but sometimes it is a blessing to stay within that old music band as you get the odd new stuff which just isn't appealing. The majority of musicians are putting out their heart and soul for our enjoyment and because that's what they love, they are defining themselves through a work of art, we have no right to imply our selfishness onto that, we are just here as admirers of said art. You wouldn't say to old Van Gogh oi where's your new stuff, hurry up, because you appreciate it takes time to paint a picture and to muster talent. Shut up.
Emily:
So this is the second song named Emily floating around my playlists, and the only issue I actually have is the name/subject of the song. There's so many Emily songs, Catfish and the Bottlemen have one, but I'm at a loss to find many if not any with my own name. That sounds so cynical, I want to have a song with my name in, I know it's not like the Coke bottles. But honest to god the only song I've found is Vogue by Madonna and she briefly mentions my name sake (Lauren Bacall), what's so special about Emily anyway?
No offence to any Emily's by the way. But now my little rant is over. I like this song, it's soft, but still has that space tune aspect woven through. It's a nice change from the rest of the album though, this one definitely sticks out. I feel like this could get remixed really nicely. It goes from almost acoustic into like robot beeps and techno beats and then back to that gentle vibe, and then mixes the two. It's a soul calmer, this song is very calm considering the lyrics. Then we go into that space vibe guitar solo and it makes my head spin and then back to the start, his voice is so melodic and goes really nicely with a guitar.
Twice Your Size:
I'm not too keen on this one. I do get Bowie vibes really strongly and for some reason Paul Weller? It just isn't really my style, but that's okay, no one ever said you had to like every single song.
I don't know if it's the lyrics or the actual sound of the song, but I associate with the slow boring part of my mind and would instantly skip when I'm playing this album in the car. I do the same with Man Who Sold the World. It just sounds old to me, and not the upbeat kind, it's that b-list type song you have to really like the artist to enjoy. I don't mean that in a nasty way, it's just that kind of tune that my dad would probably enjoy but I'm a little bit more fast paced and need harsh guitars or emotional lyrics.
Rapture:
I really vibe with this one. I am in love with that rhythm guitar, that base tune just speaks to me. These lyrics are easy and the guitars are harsh and basey. Goes with the angst Dec displays towards the end. It goes with layers. (Think Shrek)
I think this is a really cool song to drive to, a bit like in Baby Driver, a lot of songs that are 'speaker worthy' and are brilliant to blast, or it's a cool song to play at a party (socially distanced) because anyone can move along with it. It just has a really nice, new sound.
Sagittarius A*:
There's a band called Sleeping At Last that I really like, and they have a whole album dedicated to space. Now the sound at the start of this one reminds me of that soft, spacial sound that is so typical of that album. It's really calming.
This one again comes with elements of a story, and has references to characters and real life people like Noah, (although can Noah be counted as real life? You know what I mean).
I am actually an Aquarius and I'm afraid I wouldn't change that for the world, but I get those horoscope vibes. Fate is such a cool aspect of life and I'm glad someone else delves into this sort of stuff! (I have been reliably informed by today's proof reader who googled it, but Declan is apparently a Capricorn so I'm just going to hush)
I do like the hippy-ish vibes here though, really opens your mind and if you can't explore different sounds in the indie genre, why bother?
Eventually, Darling:
Father McCarthy reminds me of Father McKenzie from 'Eleanor Rigby', I get the same melancholic vibe from both songs, and both make you reflect on yourself. Do you wanna end up like Eleanor where no one morns you or do you want to disappoint people in life? Deep.
This is a really nice end of album song. It ties in our mixed emotions from the rest of the story like album, and turns them into a nice, gentle, ethereal sounding track. I like the movement, I like the easy, flowing feel of the track, and I like the voice distortion (chipmunk bit) alongside Dec's for that layered sound. It brings a little bit of perspective, I think, and makes you associate something else in with this track. What that something else is I couldn't tell you, hence the perspective, it's personal, you take this song how you want to. You make your own connections to this, I'm only here to tell you Declan is a musical genius.
So overall then. I'd say this is an outstanding piece of musical art and I have listened on and off for almost a week. Thank you to Declan, I am enjoying looking at my limited edition ECO vinyl record, it occurred to me I don't actually have a record player but I am very happy with it and that can soon be remedied. I am going to give Zeros by Declan McKenna an 8/10, it's a great mix, he's a great guy, and I think he'll open your eyes a little to the injustice around you.
All in all then, help out our British artists and if you like his sound buy his music! Otherwise, live well, stay safe, and love freely. Peace!!
Comments
Post a Comment