TRACK REVIEW: Declan McKenna - Rapture

TRACK REVIEW:

Declan McKenna

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Hahn

Rapture

9.7/10

The track, Rapture, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHMOCS42Uv

The album, Zeros, is available via:

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/declan-mckenna/zeros

RELEASE DATE:

4th September, 2020

GENRE:

Indie Rock

ORIGIN:

London, U.K.

LABEL:

Columbia

TRACKLIST:

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

__________

WHEN I do these reviews…

I like to look at the whole artist and approach the subject from a number of different angles. I feel it is important to go a little deep, as so many reviewers provide a few lines about an album and you never really get to learn more about the process and aspects that contributed to its creation! In the case of Declan McKenna, there is a lot to discuss. I have been aware of his music since his debut album, What Do You Think About the Car?, arrived in 2017 and, even back then, one can tell that he was an exciting and original talent. His new album, Zeros, shows that he has grown as a songwriter and is reaching new levels of brilliance. I want to first cover the subject of pressure on your artists. Tracking back to a comment from Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, recently, where he said that artists need to be more prolific and cannot put out an album every few years and expect to be okay. There is that pressure to keep putting out material, and I feel a lot of artists release so many singles because they feel they will be forgotten or rendered obsolete if they leave a few months between tracks. Run the Jewels released RTJ 4, and that was after a four-year gap; Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia arrives three years after her eponymous debut; Perfume Genius’ Set My Heart on Fire Immediately was his first album in three years; Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher is one of the best from this year and her last album, Stranger in the Alps, came out in 2017. Even Bon Dylan has left three years between his new album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, and his album before that, Triplicate. Apart from artists like Charli XCX putting out incredible albums so soon after their last – How I’m Feeling Now comes only a year after Charli -, so many of the very best albums of this year have come after sizeable gaps, so that artists could germinate, find necessary inspiration and space, and create an album that was not rushed and a product of record company pressure. After Declan McKenna put out a brilliant debut album, there would have been this feeling – from himself and outsiders – that you need to capitalise and keep going. I think the actual act of growing up and allowing time to elapse has meant McKenna has explored new avenues, picked up a lot of life experience, and been able to bring something different to his music. When he spoke with the BBC recently, he discussed that comment by Daniel Ek, and how he feels about that unhealthy cycle of releasing so much music without much of a break:

“Three years later he's releasing the follow up record, Zeros.

It's a gap he's "more than comfortable" with but he thinks some people in the music industry aren't as patient.

He says recent comments from Spotify boss Daniel Ek that artists can no longer release "every three to four years" if they want to stay relevant are "unhealthy".

PHOTO CREDIT: Rachel Kiki

"I think it was an unnecessary comment... the problem is how condescending it comes across," he tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"It's scary when one of the guys in control just seems to show a lack of appreciation for artists who want to release music in different ways.

"Algorithms work when someone is doing a daily vlog or something, not when it's someone's life's work.

"People still like albums, why you trying to ruin that for people? I don't understand."

The 21 year-old also thinks the pressure he feels from streaming platforms is starting to rub off on fans.

"Someone will release an album then a month later it's like 'where's the music?'.

"It shouldn't be like that and it's not healthy. If that is the modern landscape, then that is scary.

"This stuff takes years to conceptualise and come up with. I can just see that becoming worse and worse and I don't think it's cool to put artists in that position.

"I can't say doesn't get to me even though I try and avoid letting it influence my decisions".

It is testament to McKenna’s instincts, patience, and strength that he has gone away and made an album that is true to him. Since his debut album came out in 2017, McKenna has found so many new people come his way. Whilst the exposure has been great, a certain level of expectation would have been placed at his feet. His second album could have been quite muddled or rushed but, as I say, it is beautifully crafted and a real development! Looking back at how he started out, it has been a memorable and whirlwind past five years for McKenna - since his debut single, Brazil, arrived. This NME interview takes us inside his remarkable rise:

“In terms of viral success stories, Declan’s is a particularly unique case. His debut single, the riff-happy ‘Brazil’, quickly became a runaway hit in 2015: self-released when he was still some months shy of 16, the sprightly, intelligent cut of indie-pop with which he defiantly called out the corruption scandal around the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The work of someone unafraid to obscure the definition of a protest song, it was bold and forward-thinking, much like the precocious singer-songwriter himself.

That very same track led Declan to being crowned the winner of Glastonbury Festival’s prestigious Emerging Talent competition in 2015, which immediately threw him into a heady whirlwind of press tours, social media attention and formal meetings with industry executives – and all while he should have been revising for his final GCSE exams. After a major label bidding war, he signed to Sony offshoot Columbia and in pursuit of stardom, and left school for good”.

In terms of where McKenna is now as an artist, I think the fact that he is now twenty-one – he recorded bits for his debut in 2015 – means that there is more maturity, authority, and layers on Zeros. That may sound patronising, but I think any artist who is really young has their limitations and is still learning. In terms of experiencing life and picking stuff up, a lot of that will come as he grows older, and I feel the three years since his last album has taught him so much. Time on the road would also have given McKenna new direction and insight, and what we hear on his second album is a young man blossoming, discovering more about himself and the world around him. I will nod to McKenna’s social awareness and political nature, and I think a bit of his debut album was putting out these deep and arresting songs that had a Pop twist. In the NME interview I just quoted from, McKenna discussed what he was trying to achieve with the debut:

“With my first album, I was just simply trying to highlight problems within society and put it into pop songs,” he tells NME. “I think that music is the best way to share a message, as I might as well be promoting stuff that I think is wrong in the world.” He looks away from the camera and gives himself a minute to consider his answer deeply. “Though I still can’t put myself at the forefront of my generation because all I was doing was trying to say something important in every aspect of that body of work, but there has since been this expectation for me to blur the lines between myself as an artist and as an activist”.

Of course, if you release a successful album, you get new opportunities in terms of your budget and ambitions. Not to say that a tonne of money was thrown at McKenna after What Do You Think About the Car?, but he definitely provide himself, and he would have more sway when he came to Columbia to talk about the follow-up. Not only has McKenna had a bit of time to get on the road, spend some time with himself too and absorb a lot around him, but I think he genuinely sat back and pondered whether he wanted to record his second album in the same way he did with his debut - or whether he needed to alter things and change the landscape. In a recent interview with DORK, Mckenna talked about working in Nashville for Zeros, and what adjustments have come into his camp since the debut album:

“It's been over a year now since Declan upped sticks with his band to Nashville to begin making the album. The one thing that characterised the lengthy sessions for 'Zeros' with producer Jay Joyce was a desire to make a proper band record; to harness the fevered energy and flamboyant exuberance of Declan's stage show on record. "I really made a focus on this album on the live energy and space. Making sure stuff was epic but not overcrowded, and I had moments of expansiveness and moments of simplicity," he explains. "I was feeling confident in myself and confident with my band and the team around me who were just awesome. I don't know if that means anyone will like the songs more, but as long as I'm happy, I think that's a good place to start."

The ability to work more collaboratively was a development from the way he made his debut, which still had the hallmark of his early days working songs up from loop pedals with basic equipment. "There's nothing like experience and time with equipment to help you learn both how to come up with more ideas but also to help you execute them," he says. "Part of it was improving my role as a producer even though I didn't actually produce the album. Increasing how much I could influence the sound of the record and what I wanted creatively".

“It was a different way of writing for Declan. With less of a reliance on overt, grandstanding statements, he instead favoured an ever-evolving mystery and a series of playful, witty and, at times, heartbreaking character sketches that shine a light on some greater universal truisms of the modern world we live in. "The ideas that I thought would be the concept of the album never stopped changing," reflects Declan. "I was thinking about space" - a recurring theme on the record - "and how that metaphor tied into so many things that I care about; the environment, denied aspirations of a lot of young people in the world. All of that was very important to me”.

What I love about What Do You Think About the Car? is that it was unafraid to tackle big subjects and something as weighty as transgender suicide (on the track, Paracetamol). Clearly, McKenna is someone who is affected by personal and global tragedies. Whether it is the needless and heartaching death of an individual or the purge of an entire nation, this will all seep into his mind and move him to put pen to paper. One might expect something a little more throwaway and lighter from someone so young, but McKenna is different from so many of his peers in that sense. Whilst What Do You Think About the Car? has some great riffs and sense of fun, I think McKenna has been conscious to not water down his lyrical content, but make sure there is a bit more lightness and brightness in the mix. Rather than diluting his impactful and hard-hitting lyrics, I think the music has been heightened by a move more towards the fun. It has given his material new depth and nuance, and I think it will introduce McKenna to new audiences. When McKenna spoke with DIY, he discussed bringing some fun to Zeros:

“Though still based around the social commentary that saw him hailed as a “voice of his generation” with his first album, ‘Zeros’ sees Declan stepping slightly away from that role and embracing a more fun side to his music too. “People have put a lot of pressure on me, saying all this crazy shit [like that]. So I was like, well with this album I’m just going to write, and just going to create, and it’s not going to be me trying to put out any specific direct political meaning in the way some of the songs did on the first album,” he says.

“I was just about having fun doing it! Some points in it, I’m chatting absolute shite and it feels great! There’s still direct songs, like [pre-album single] ‘British Bombs’, and I still have the desire to do that. But I didn’t want anyone to think I hold the belief that all art has to be the most significant thing in the world. At the end of the day, the reason I love music is because I like sticking it on whenever, and I like going to festivals and I like to party. It’s about getting that balance between the reflection [of society] and the party, and I think that’s where my music lies”.

Not only has there been a slight sonic shift and one in terms of emotion and energy; I also feel that McKenna has experimented more in terms of his own image. When I heard McKenna’s debut and saw photos of him in various interviews, I felt that he had that sort of mix of David Bowie and Marc Bolan (T.Rex). Not to suggest there is an androgynous quality, but McKenna has this sort of allure and flamboyance that we can link to those icons. I am not sure what music McKenna grew up on, but one suspects that there was a lot of David Bowie in the house! Not to suggest he is the modern-day incarnate, but it is fascinating seeing an artist who has this combination of intelligence, mystique, innovation, and style. More gender-fluid than a lot of other artists, I feel McKenna is more confident in terms of his look and sexuality than he might have been back in 2017. Again, age and experience has provided him with that necessary passing of time so he can not be more expressive and assured. When he sat down and chatted with Attitude, the subject of sexuality and self-expression came up:

“As he poses for a self-directed shoot from lockdown for Attitude's July issue - out now to download and to order globally - Declan opens up about his sexuality in his most candid interview yet: one that sees him reflect on school, therapy, and the often difficult transition from teenage years to your early 20s.

Of the sexual-fluidity he's previously pointed to as an identifier, McKenna says: "It’s hard to define. I feel more confident talking about it now than I did a few years ago – I remember being asked a lot about it.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rachel Kiki

"At the time, maybe two years ago or so, I was reading up on a lot of stuff and believing myself to be individual, made up of many parts and not just this one thing.

"It felt very hard to pin down, but ultimately I just feel like myself. I would never have really said my sexuality is restricted to any gender or anything."

The former winner of Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition goes on: "It always feels like it’s changing: how I feel and how I am”.

Declan McKenna is definitely providing a voice, influence, and sense of direction to many people out there. From sexuality and being true to yourself through to other artists who might be wary about taking on certain topics, McKenna is someone who, I feel, will be the voice of a generation! I just want to stay on one particular theme before moving on: David Bowie. Doing some more digging, I have discovered that, indeed, the much-missed legend is someone who means a lot to McKenna. One can sense a bit of Bowie’s D.N.A. in McKenna when you see some of the photos, the way he writes and how McKenna can sort of change his persona and foundations between albums – even if this is only his second album. Going back to the NME interview that I sourced from earlier, and the subject of Bowie came up:

“On ‘Zeros’, these influences come out to play – kicking and screaming. Blink and you’d mistake the cover’s coruscating, motion-blurred portrait of Declan for ‘Space Oddity’-era Bowie, and that seems to have been the intention all along. “The glam-rock era was just full of life,” he beams, chuckling softly. “I’m fascinated by the clothes that musicians of that era could get away with wearing, and the concepts of space and time that were invariant to the music of the 1970s. The energy! The freedom! The inspiration!”

He took those ideas and ran with them. Where his lyrics were formerly straightforward and direct, ‘Zeros’ is often powerfully evocative and at times dark, evoking the space-age ideas that many of his primary inspirations drew from. “So what do you think you’re doing telling people lies? / The hope’s going like Christmas pies” he sings on the poignant, juddering ‘Daniel, You’re Still A Child’. “But it’s never gonna stopturning you pink”.

I feel a lot of artists now get accused of being quite limited in terms of their songwriting and vocals. It is the case that there are so many out there, it can be difficult latching onto someone with genuine potential and originality. David Bowie is not the only artist who McKenna is challenging – in a unique and very personal way -, but I think the master is always close to his heart. One might say that evoking Bowie’s spirit into the music might give it too familiar a sound, but McKenna merely sprinkles in various bits here and there, whether it be a particular phrasing on a song, a photoshoot idea for a magazine, or a sonic diversion. Going back to that DIY interview, and an interesting piece of Bowie-related information caught my eye:

“Inspired by the likes of T.Rex, Kate Bush, Bob Dylan and the ever-useful motto of “What would David Bowie do?”, Declan’s new album is a glitzy journey through a dystopian landscape, complete with end-of-the-world scenarios and a plethora of colourful characters. Recorded in a converted church over several weeks to reflect the sense of “weirdness,” his aim was to channel the energy of his live band into the record, compelling his band to “play shitter” in order to keep the live vibe and translate his original ‘70s space opera vision into something “not quite as corny”.

There are a couple of other things I want to tick off before I get down to review a choice song from Zeros, but I wanted to return to lyrical inspiration. Maybe fitting of someone who admires David Bowie so, space and the solar system are pretty big in McKenna’s mind. I think a lot of us were very curious as children regarding the universe and what lay between us and the uppermost reaches of the universe. That wide-eyed curiosity is something that has not abandoned McKenna. Again, this circles back to McKenna being a bold and original songwriter who wants to explore issues beyond love or self-inspection. There is a lot of the personal in Zeros, but there is also that mindset that takes him to recesses and spaces that few other artists are documenting. Reuniting with that DORK interview, and McKenna discussed his fascination with space and the great beyond:

“The ability to float off in all manner of lyrical flights of fancy allowed Declan to indulge in a lot of his childhood obsessions. "I was interested in space when I was growing up and read a lot of books about the solar system. In my teenage years, I listened to a lot of music from the 60s that was about the space race," he says. "I like how corny that stuff is now. You can make a space concept album and people are like, well done, that's the thing everyone does. The thing I was trying to consider was the idea of how humans have a tendency to look up for something larger than themselves. Space is used as a metaphor. Different religions are used as a metaphor throughout the album.

"A lot of it is just about human struggle and how we take away our responsibilities by looking at these things and by branching out further than what we've got. We have Earth, and we have each other. If we can't look after those, then nothing else is going to look after us. Different people believe different things, but the one thing we can all agree is real is us and Earth. I was very interested in space and spirituality as an escape that makes us feel like we're powerless when really we are very powerful and have very important responsibilities that we have to be aware of. That was one of the big things for me. A lot of the time humanity is going in a dangerous and destructive direction that most people don't want”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Eva Pentel

The last subject I want to touch on before getting down to business sort of takes us back to my first points regarding pressure and expectations. Not only do new artists get this pressure after a great debut that they need to follow things up quickly – and so many artists in general are expected to put stuff out regularly -, but there is that online presence that can be exposing and poisonous. Of course, there are good sides to social media, but there is that unfiltered and poisonous aspect that can amplify and intensify if you are a popular figure. What I mean is that there are people out there who will undermine artists or attack them for no reason. I don’t think we really can grasp just how damaging it can be for an artist to read a nasty or negative tweet about them. McKenna would have faced that like anyone, but he is aware that social media needs to be a nicer and more respectful place. When McKenna spoke with NME, we hear an incident of when he was under the spotlight and some of the reaction he faced – and how McKenna wants social media to be less about blame and more about healthy conversation and acceptance:

“With so much of his public presence rooted in his history of political activism, his stans understand his commitment to social change. But of course that doesn’t shield him from criticism: in June, unable to attend a series Black Lives Matter protests in his hometown due to public transport complications, he posted a lengthy Instagram statement voicing his support for the movement. The post was met with a level of vitriol from some followers, who accused Declan of performative allyship, despite his long-standing, renowned effort to use his platform responsibly.

Instead, he wants to encourage healthier conversations online: “Someone should not have to constantly be reminding you guys that they think X is wrong or right, you know. Not everyone has that close relationship with the internet and a lot of people need a bit more space from it”.

Sitting down to review Rapture, and one is caught from the very off! The lyrics video sees our hero backed by singing statues, and McKenna sports some nifty flares/trousers and some heeled shoes! The backdrop – I assume it was a greenscreen-shot video at McKenna’s home – is quite apocalyptic and sparse, whereas there is something more calm and alluring in the foreground. I do love that blend, but the intro just sees the words ‘jet black’ repeated. What makes it more extraordinary is the vocal is robotic and processed. It is layered so we get this spacey and futuristic vibe from the vocals, but there is something Glam Rock or almost Disco with the composition. It is a big and immediate sound that packs so much punch. One wonders whether the jet black refers to the state of the world and what things are like right now. McKenna’s voice comes to the fore, and he is backed by a fantastic percussive beat and momentum that keeps the energy of the introduction going. The first lines, “At first, you will find/A prophecy of what could have been, you know (You know)” make me wonder what McKenna is referring to, but I think it is less to do with a specific event and more to do with current affairs and how the world has transformed. McKenna’s voice can be playful but there is also that seriousness that keeps the words grounded and ensures they get right into the brain! In terms of imagery and lyrical heft, McKenna always delivers songs that make you think. “Cross-hatched in the metal when you're cracking up/But you're part of the pack, pup/You're part of something bigger than the laws of nature” is beautifully phrased and written, and I think it is sort of down to the listener to decide what McKenna is saying. I think, in the early stages, it is more of a general look at the world today and the song’s title, Rapture, kind of gives you a hint as to the subject matter.

There is a passage that is definitely political and charged. I wonder whether McKenna is casting himself back into the 1980s or is looking back at the turbulent leadership of Margaret Thatcher when he sings: “Mrs. Thatcher/Your cruel heart navigates the world we live in/With its anger/Going nowhere, coming at ya”. In the verse, there is a bit of Alex Tuner of the Arctic Monkeys. One gets a pleasing twang of Alex Tuner (the name of my new podcast!), and there is a great blend of edge and swagger. The chorus definitely gets the feet tapping and it has plenty of sway and energy to it. Like so many Declan McKenna songs, one gets this pairing of serious and thought-provoking lyrics and something a little lighter in the composition. McKenna said how he wants to bring some more fun into his music, and the chorus – “Rapture in my head/I keep looking up like I'm already dead/Rapture, oh my Lord/I've been playing catch-up/I'm already bored” – is definitely imbued with something jollifying and gratifying. I think that makes Rapture a more nuanced song, as one might be hit by the energy and kick to start with but, when they return, the lyrics hit harder or the vocal might resound a bit louder. There is no doubt that McKenna is feeling the weight and he is struggling with the way things are; both a sense of the world around him straining and his own existence being affected. One gets this obliqueness with the lyrics, as you can definitely get a sense of the tone and general inspiration, but the specific origin might not be obvious. I do love that, and this is definitely apparent in the second verse: “Oh, God, tell me I sure am on the list/How can you make yourself so scarce from someone you love?/Oh, it don't make sense/Your love is never better than the morning after (Morning after)/Well, Mother Nature, coming at ya”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rachel Kiki

The chorus comes back in, and it provides that kick and catchiness, but things definitely get more heated as we head to the bridge! Through the song’s video, McKenna is backed by those statues and a war/storm-addled scene, and he sways and dances to the music. The bridge is where the full effect of rapture and anger infiltrates his bloodstream. It is the most visceral moment of the song, and one is definitely moved. “'Cause it's rapture in my head/You say this is up/I'm already dead/Rapture in my head/You say this is up/I'm already dead” is delivered with such force. Rather than it being vituperative, it is this emotional release that, because of the intensity of feeling, gets our hero to the floor. He turns his back to the camera – turning his back on logic and, as we see, facing the rapture and destruction -, and we then end with the introductory coda with that robotic vocal. I think the words ‘jet black’ pick up reinforced and renewed meaning at the end (compared to the start), and one is definitely changed after listening to the song. It is a remarkable track from McKenna, and it is my favourite cut from Zeros. There are plenty of other songs that match the brilliance of Rapture, and I think we might have a possible album of the year contender in our midst! The spellbinding Declan McKenna is growing more assured and wonderful with age, and I think he has really grown as a songwriter. There are many more years ahead of him, and there is no telling just how good he will get – I think we might have a modern icon shaping up before our eyes!

PHOTO CREDIT: Eva Pentel

Having been a follower of Declan McKenna since 2017, it has been wonderful seeing him rise and grow in popularity. He has managed to remain level-headed, and I think Zeros is a fuller and more accomplished album than his debut. Like a lot of artists, McKenna has faced the hard decision of whether to release an album during this pandemic. There is no telling when it will end, so it was probably less about waiting until things ended and more to do with finding a moment when things calmed down a bit. McKenna spoke with Billboard, and he was asked about recording Zeros, but also what it has been like releasing it in such strange circumstances:

“What was it like recording Zeros in Nashville?

It was nice -- pretty freeing to get out of London and just go somewhere to finally put it all together. The studio was really big but still immersive, and [producer Jay Joyce] was a delight to work with. We also have some good friends out there from touring, so it was nice in that way to hang out and have some downtime.

What are the challenges of releasing an album during a pandemic?

Pressing delete on all of my plans and having to be creating so much similar stuff from home, basically. It’s a whole different style of working that I can’t say I’ve enjoyed a lot of the time. It’s not particularly rewarding for me, just recording things from home and whacking it on the internet.

What about the positives?

I guess people have had time to listen and connect -- it’s just a shame that we’ve had to keep everyone waiting”.

I shall leave things here, but I would encourage people to go out and buy Zeros – there is a link at the top of the review - and follow one of the best young artists we have. I am looking forward to seeing where McKenna goes next and what he has in store. He will be itching to play live, and I hope there is an opportunity where he can play a socially-distanced gig or do a livestream, just so he can play these new songs to an audience. In any case, he will be out and busy next year, and it will be exciting to see the reception he is afforded. Keep your eyes on Declan McKenna, as he is a wonderful songwriter and…