Last December, we spoke of Declan McKenna here about him teasing the upcoming new music. Today, the singer has fulfilled his promise and finally dropped the first single and video of a new track titled “Beautiful Faces” from Zeros, the sophomore album set for the May release.
Zeros is a follow-up of 2017’s What Do You Think About the Car?. This forthcoming record will be released on May 15, and it is also up for pre-order now. The singer also revealed the album cover with the tracklist of ten tracks, which is not fully revealed yet, except the fourth track that is “Beautiful Faces”, the first cut from the album.
“Beautiful Faces” is the first single officially released to promote Zeros. The track showcases the singer’s usual and unique styles and aesthetics: a bright and joyful song with a stark contrast of serious lyrics about the dark side of being a teenager.
According to NME, McKenna shared the background of “Beautiful Faces” that it is a track about “young people in the modern world and how intimidating it can be” while describing the track as an “anthem for doomed youth”.
“I wanted it to be a big song…Scary big. It very much relates to now, but I wanted to reimagine social media in this future-sphere where it has become even more immersive so that we cannot see where it ends and we begin,” said McKenna. Listen to the track below.
Regarding the second LP, the “Humongous” singer talked to DIY about his new project. He maintains that his new music is still “pop”, and the new album is largely inspired by music from the seventies. “There’s a lot of ’70s references, a lot of Waterboys and Crosby, Stills and Nash, but it still feels modern to me. It definitely feels like a natural progression from the first one,” explained McKenna.
The London-born singer also added that Zeros will be “a little bit vaguer and less direct.” The reason is that he wants “people to take from it what they take from it as opposed to [him] telling the same direct story, saying exactly what it is [he’s] writing about.”
Prior to the arrival of Zeros, McKenna will make an appearance at live shows this February. The first show will be his headlining show in Ramsgate on the 10th, followed by a show in Guildford on the 11th and the other in London on the 12th, the last of which is part of the BRITs Week 2020 where McKenna will play a gig in Islington Assembly Hall. Moreover, after the new album drops, he will make a giant appearance at This Is Tomorrow in Newcastle on May 24. Tickets to all these shows can be checked out via Songkick.
Last year, McKenna shared a politically-charged track “British Bombs”. The track took jabs at the British arm trade and the weapon convention in London. The song, however, does not make the cut for Zeros‘ trackist.
