In an era of mass-produced music which shies away from social issues, Declan Mckenna’s debut album promises a bright future. The 18-year old has already become known for his hard-hitting lyrics, and his debut album ‘What Do You Think About The Car?’ promises to bring the protest song back to pop.

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Since his first single ‘Brazil’ caught the attention of the nation by tackling the controversy surrounding the World Cup in Brazil, Declan has already cultivated an image based around not being afraid to sing about world issues. Now, on his debut album, he is fleshing out his personality as a performer with some more personal songs, whilst maintaining a focus on important subjects. ‘What Do You Think About The Car?’ is, as a whole, a fantastic insight into the mind-set of a disillusioned youth, set to a catchy alt-pop soundtrack. Declan is beyond his years in song writing capability, and uses this talent to make his generation’s voice heard.

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The theme of youth is clear from the very beginning, as the album starts with a clip from a home movie, in which a 4 year old Declan prophetically states that “I am going to sing my new album now”. The innocence of a child’s voice here and elsewhere in the album cleverly reminds the listener that that this is a young person’s view on the world they will grow up in. This major theme is shown most clearly in the 3rd track; the single ‘The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home’, a track with such a strong message about growing up in the modern world that it has garnered over 2 million views on YouTube, and has earned Declan the title “The social musical conscience of gen z.” (i-D)

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‘What Do You Think About The Car?’ contains all of Declan’s catchy, issue-focussed singles, for which he has been praised many times over; but what makes this a well-rounded album (and an incredible debut!) is that it is fleshed out by multiple new pop songs. These songs, such as ‘Mind’ and ‘Why Do You Feel So Down’, are more personal than his majorly outward-facing singles, which this adds to the overall sense of the artist we get on the album. If you were to take any one song from the album, it would be able to stand alone thanks to thoughtful lyrics and great melodies; but not only that, the album holds together as a whole. It starts and ends strongly, with the big ‘sing-able’ chorus on ‘Humongous’, and the thought-provoking poem on poverty in the final song, ‘Listen To Your Friends’.

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It is a very thematic-based debut, and touches on everything from right-wing news coverage on ‘Isombard’, (a fascinatingly complex song based on the poem “next to of course god america i” by E. E. Cummings) to LGBT+ issues on ‘Paracetamol’ (inspired by the tragic story of Leelah Alcorn); but Declan tackles all these issues with a loud voice and a hopeful heart. It seems pretty clear that these are protest songs, designed to inspire his generation into action and make others aware of the issues he feels strongly about. Besides all this, they are all strong pop tracks and catchy, well-written tunes! The young songwriter has excelled on his debut album, and proven himself and his generation as a force to be reckoned with in the future.