This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter.
Making his album reentrance after three years, Declan McKenna’s second studio album made its debut Friday, Sep. 4 and fans are wondering if it will live up to his first album, What Do You Think About the Car? The top single from that album, “Brazil,” which lingered at number one for three weeks on Sirius XM’S Alt Nation list, is a foreshadowing of themes on Zeros. Said to be an album with undertones of protest, Zeros follows in the footsteps of “Brazil,” which Mckenna wrote in protest of the 2014 FIFA world cup.
Columbia
As What Do You Think About the Car? was an album that gave a voice to human rights issues such as immigration and transgender rights, Zeros is said to branch into the same territories. Singles on the album are said to cover topics such as the climate crisis and our increasingly digital and social media-based society. McKenna posted on his Instagram that all Zeros merchandise would be shipped without plastic wrap and with 100 percent recycled materials to reduce plastic usage. With McKenna’s personal and fanbase advocacy, the album is coming at a time to speak for a generation that has not halted in fights and protests. He is said to deliver this voice laced with ‘70s nostalgia and some simultaneous, futuristic undertones. From even the cover of the album, fans can see that McKenna was going for the ’70s vibe as he is pictured in a silver ABBA-esque jumpsuit that encapsulates the vision for the album.
Photo by Michael Jin from Unsplash
The release date of his sophomore album was postponed from May 15 to Aug. 21, and only once more to Sep. 4 due to the ongoing stressors of coronavirus. Since McKenna finished the recording of the album in August of 2019, fans had to wait for it for over a year now.
The track list includes:
“You Better Believe!!!”
“Be an Astronaut”
“The Key to Life on Earth”
“Beautiful Faces”
“Daniel, You’re Still a Child”
“Emily”
“Twice Your Size”
“Rapture”
“Sagittarius A*”
“Eventually, Darling”
Photo by Charles Deluvio from Unsplash
Overall, it seems McKenna is ditching his teenage coming of age sound for a more mature and worldly, relevant style. He explores the ideas of modern life, resembling a dystopia, which largely explains his futuristic, yet simultaneously nostalgic sound. McKenna’s sound is growing with his fans, as his 2017 album emerged in a seemingly different world. It takes the same generation once absorbed in social media to a new chapter of their lives that has brought awareness to the current political climate and media-consumed lives. Zeros is a direct reflection of Declan McKenna and his fan base’s maturation. What Do You Think About the Car? explored themes of growing up and Zeros is the product of the maturation, realization and fight of a generation for the past three years.
