Declan McKenna, The Key to Life on Earth | Track Review 🎵

Singer/songwriter Declan McKenna comes through once again on “The Key to Life on Earth,” the second single from his sophomore LP, Zeros. 

Declan McKenna has proven himself to be wise behind his years.  In 2015, he released the accomplished single, “Paracetamol”, a stunning socially conscious record surprisingly coming from a 16-year old.  He wouldn’t stop there, eventually releasing a brilliant EP, Liar (2016) before unveiling a superb but totally underrated full-length debut album, What Do You Think About the Car? in 2017. What Do You Think About the Car? arrived via Sony, while his 2020 sophomore album, Zeros, arrives independently via Tomplicated Records.  After compelling with the promo single, “Beautiful Faces”, McKenna impresses once more on “The Key to Life on Earth.”  

“The Key to Life on Earth” excels across the board.  First and foremost, Declan McKenna is a star, delivering bright, expressive, and energetic vocals. McKenna possesses a degree of rawness, which easily cuts through the production.  He’s also assisted by some pretty sweet, multitalented background vocalists: Nathan Cox (who also plays keyboards, xylophone, and bass), Isabel Torres (who also plays guitar), and Gabrielle King (who plays drums). Shout-outs are in order! Moving on to the production, it’s bright and shimmering, bursting with energy.  Like Declan’s vocals, the enthusiasm level is high.  What stands out specifically is the tone color and timbre, particularly the keyboards and guitar.

The vocals are great, and the instrumental is great too, so, that leaves lyrics and theme.  As expected, Declan McKenna brings in some socially conscious elements.  He sings about young people in England:

“Holy smokes
You kids and your jokes
Asking where we got our jeans and where the hell we found our coats
‘Cause dirty streets these days are graced by Nikes of black and green
And headstrong boys in chinos barely grasp what that could mean.”

Also, he references being ‘trapped’ because, “They’ve got it in for me”:

“We’ve been held back for after-school meetings
They’ve got it in for me
For all it’s worth
The key to life on Earth
Jokers, happy go xenophobe locals
Have got it in for me
For all I’m worth
The key to life on Earth.”

The outro is quite a treat too, but I’ll let you check that out on your own.

Final Thoughts 

Declan McKenna – always a treat.  “The Key to Life on Earth” is yet another reason to be enthused for Zeros.  Why is it so successful? To recap, great vocals and background vocals, awesome musical backdrop thanks to the particular tone color, and another set of capable lyrics.  “the Key to Life on Earth” is totally #Winning.

Declan McKenna • Zeros • Tomplicated • Release: 8.21.20

Photo Credit: Tomplicated