Strobes, Spotlights & Silence: Declan McKenna celebrates ‘Zeros’ in style
As I wrapped up my chat with Declan McKenna for Volume 10’s cover feature, I asked whether he’d consider playing Zeros in full during one of his live shows. Such is the cohesive nature of the album, it only seemed fitting. “We’ve got something in mind for that,” he wryly replied, holding his cards close to his chest.
A month later, on the release date of Zeros, Declan’s doing exactly that – virtually of course – at Lafayette in London.
Having washed up the dishes, I had a quick shower and poured a drink. It was 8:40pm, 20 minutes before the show was due to start, so I finished a chapter of my book before loading up my laptop – it was a marked changed from getting ready four or five hours before the start time of the gig, meeting friends at a bar and spending far too much money on expensive pints. After finishing the chapter, G&T in hand, I sat comfortably awaiting my first experience of ‘the new normal’ under the comfort of my duvet.
Whirring sounds reminiscent of a Stranger Things monster signal the start of the show as silhouettes appear on stage to the backdrop of a massive, leafless tree, decorated with ‘0’ baubles like some dark, twisted version of Christmas.
Playing the album in full, the intricacies of the tracklisting are highlighted even further live – the explosive ‘You Better Believe!!!’ is contrasted by the solemn, foreboding ‘Be An Astronaut’. The former’s accompanied by intense strobe lighting and instruments crashing against one another, the latter by a mere spotlight, Declan and his keyboard taking centre stage. Strobe lighting appears consistently throughout amidst intervals of bright, vibrant colours; these juxtapositions are key to the album, and the live show as well.
Declan switches between addressing the empty venue and cameras throughout – perhaps a sign that he’s still getting used to perform to nobody. This is compounded when he asks ‘How are we doing?’, only to be met by silence. Acknowledging his mistake, he continues: ‘Good to hear,’ before laughing.
The new material shows it’s live qualities, each song demonstrating it’ll hold its own against the anthems of doomed youth from Dec’s debut. ‘Emily’ shows off his vocal ability, ‘Rapture’ and ‘Twice Your Size’ are electric, ferocious rock ‘n’ roll numbers that will incite mosh pits for years to come, while ‘Beautiful Faces’ has anthemic, sing-along qualities – it could be ringing around arenas and stadiums in a decade or so.
The change-over between songs is quick, the band keen to avoid the eerie silences that appear once or twice throughout. Anytime a breather is needed, Declan is quick to step up to the mic and fill the void with witty comments – he’s cheekier and more confident tonight: “These next two songs are the best songs ever,” he comments before ‘Sagittarius A’ and ‘Eventually, Darling’. This is an artist at the top of their game, full of confidence and perhaps a drop of alcohol – who could blame him?
As Zeros comes to an end, Declan wastes no time in launching into a flurry of older material. 2019’s politically-charged ‘British Bombs’ reignites the energy after ‘Eventually, Darling’s’ philosophical questioning, the upbeat instrumentation and rainbow lighting makes you forget the dark subject matter of the song for a moment. This is followed by ‘Brazil’, ‘Make Me Your Queen’ and ‘Listen To Your Friends’, before Declan looks down the camera and, adopting a faux-USA accent, signs off in style: “That’s all from us tonight, thanks kids!” and away he goes.
A fitting celebration of a superb album, Declan McKenna did the best he could under the circumstances. An energetic show that reminds you of his qualities of a live performer, it was a fitting way to spend a Friday evening – I just hope it’s not something we have to get used to for much longer.
