In a crazed lockdown period in my life (and ongoing, of course), I randomly found Declan McKenna's album "Zero" on the streaming station, as well as seeing his video of his song "Beautiful Faces." Everything is shit, yet hearing a proto-type glam artist in 2020 brought me hope and salvation. What more can we ask from music or an artist?
Not knowing anything about McKenna, I was drawn to what to me is, a suburbian glam rock style that has traces of classic Blur thrown in the mix. McKenna and company recorded in Nashville, and it is probably the most unlikely Nashville album ever made. Keep in mind, I'm a Californian, so anything outside the state is a bit of a mystery to me. Every song on "Zero" has a catchy hook and a beautiful build-up to the chorus. If there were still hit singles being made and processed through the music business, then "Beautiful Faces" would be that song. Instantly aware that is a classic song in the lines of Mott and Bowie's "All The Young Dudes." As I write, the earworm chorus is stuck in my brain, and I feel it won't leave me until sudden death.
The rest of the album is as strong as "Beautiful Faces," especially after repeated listens. I rarely fall in love with a contemporary pop sound, and maybe this is a retro-world. Nevertheless, Declan McKenna is an artist that can go anywhere from this on with "Zero."
I'm looking forward to the adventure, but meanwhile, I'm going to play this album a few times a day, for nothing else but to see the world in a better and bright light.
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