Artist Profile: Declan McKenna

Declan McKenna’s music video for “Brazil” starts out with him sitting underwater wearing a cat mask and playing vinyl records. The rest of the music video is equally full of expressive but seemingly random imagery. There's him dancing around in a dark room, with a single light source shining warm orange on his space-helmet covered face. Then in the next scene, he seems to be pasted in front of images of mountains. The clashing warmth and coolness of the bright images that resemble shiny cutouts from magazines mirror the juxtaposition in the music—music that is both familiar and ingenuitive.

Declan McKenna is an English singer and songwriter who won the Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition in 2015. Glastonbury Festival, which celebrates contemporary performing arts, is an important part of British pop culture, and the winner of the Emerging Talent Competition gets to perform at one of the largest stages at the festival. After his win, McKenna’s song “Brazil” caught global attention, reaching first place on XM Radio Alt Nation countdown and 16th on U.S. Billboard alternative songs. Last year, he released his debut album “What Do You Think About the Car?” at the age of 18.

McKenna wrote the songs in his first album during the core years of his adolescence, a time in life commonly seen as the first instance of self-awareness and discovery. This certainly comes through in his music, as his raw lyrics about himself and society are both new and specific in their portrayal of the modern teenage experience. They are deeply personal, familiar, and timeless in their encapsulation of the feelings of hopelessness, disillusionment, and reinvention that transcend a single time period. It is this feeling and tone that has moved countless reviewers to label McKenna as “the voice of a generation” and to compare him to David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen. McKenna himself believes that the label is cliché and overused, and that the generation should really be defined by a multitude of voices.

McKenna shares these voices in his music video for “The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home” that starts and ends with video and audio clips of various teens sharing their opinions on the world. In a comment on the website Genius, McKenna explains that the titular phrase refers to the way today’s youth don’t want to continue making the same mistakes of older generations. He sings about the way in which the older generation assumes that teens don’t care about the world outside their phones; in reality, young people simply don’t have a voice in politics where all the decisions are made for them. The song alone is an indication that McKenna breaks that stereotype.

McKenna describes this disappointment with and distance from modern government in several of his other songs. “Brazil,” the song that skyrocketed him to fame, signals FIFA’s corruption and decision to have Brazil host the 2014 World Cup despite political and economic devastation in the country. The chorus goes, “I heard he lives down a river somewhere/With six cars and a grizzly bear/He's got eyes, but he can't see/Well, he talks like an angel but he looks like me.” The words seem nonsensical, but in fact comment on the economic disparity between Sepp Blatter, FIFA president at the time, and the poor people of Brazil. Similarly, many of McKenna’s songs have lyrics that seem fun or lighthearted but have a deeper meaning.

One of McKenna’s more personal songs is “Humongous,” which expresses the power and effect of social media and crafting a self-image. McKenna repeats throughout the song, “I’m big, humongous, enormous, and small.” While his image is inflated online, McKenna admits in an interview with Billboard, he is still a teenage boy who has a hard time taking what is written about him—good or bad. It is when he seems most vulnerable that his lyrics come out most simple, honest, and poignant. His sudden fame with his first album and many tours around the world has heavily impacted him, and McKenna appears laid-back but tired in recent interviews.

When asked about his sexuality during an interview with Attitude magazine, McKenna explained, “I don’t know, I’m seeing. I could put a label on it if you want, but at the minute, I’m learning about a lot of things.” However, this openness with himself and exploration of who he is doesn’t end with his sexuality. McKenna breaks gender norms by wearing nail polish and glitter around his eyes. He also experiments with diverse topics that are just as striking as his lyrics. In addition to covering politics and disillusionment, he sings about religion and LGBT issues. “Paracetamol” was inspired by the 2014 suicide of Leelah Alcorn, who desired to transition but was denied and sent to conversion therapy instead. “Bethlehem” is about the way religious speakers justify war and hate, while McKenna believes in love for all. His songs don’t come across as didactic, though, and he writes about what is currently on his mind, whether it is political, deep and meaningful, or simply fun. That’s why it comes across as so honest and relatable.

McKenna juxtaposes political commentary with deep vocals and experimental chords. His voice is smooth, vulnerable, and raw, but also deep and mature. The first time I heard his voice—his song “Humongous” playing in the background of a YouTube video—I had thought the song was from the ’80s and performed by a grown man. McKenna embraces and builds his songs around this nostalgic feel and connection to the past. Yet, each song is different, spunky, and fresh, including offbeat synthetic loops and catchy beats. McKenna experiments with the electrical pitches of an organ and the versatile strums of a guitar to create provocative and playful tracks. “Bethlehem” has him singing in a deep and slow voice; “Listen to your Friends” starts out with stretched words and has a whole segment where he recites the lyrics almost as a poem rather than singing; “Paracetamol” includes a trippy fast-paced experimental riff; “Why Do You Feel So Down?” is uplifting and cheerful.

McKenna’s songs all show his determination to take action and discuss serious issues. He voices much of the concern of the younger generation and also provides the hope that if we pay attention, we can change the world. His first album “What Do You Think About the Car?” is engaging, inspiring, and packed with complexity. It sets McKenna up for a promising journey, and I’m excited to see where it will take him.