The Zeros Tour hasn’t been an easy ride for Declan McKenna. Nonetheless when he walked
out to a filled Brixton Academy the sequin shirted singer and his four piece band certainly
delivered. With his flamboyant persona and energetic stage presence it’s hard to believe that
McKenna is still only 22 years old.
Having had an amazing support act in Alfie Templeman the crowd were hyped and ready for
the main act.
Opening with indie pop anthem ‘Beautiful Faces’ and a large amount of confetti you can see
McKenna is paying homage to his area ambitions. It’s clear that this gen z indie rock star is
going to put on an incredible show.
McKenna acknowledges his entire catalog from his 2018 album What Do You Think About The
Car to his follow up album Zeros. Across both he creates anthems about environmental
turmoil, social class struggles and the strains of social media.
The 70’s inspired track ‘Listen To Your Friends’ does just that as McKenna’s infamous line
“God bless the weatherman, who has gone out of business since the psychoactive
substance ban,”
McKenna shows off his many talents as he sits behind the keyboard to serenade the crowd
with ‘Be an Astronaut’ which featured an incredible guitar solo by his amazing guitarist.
With the sense of production behind McKenna’s music much of the live performances relied
on McKenna’s natural melodic talent and a huge amount of enthusiasm: which he had in
abundance.
McKenna’s showman skills really come to the forefront within the encore when he presents
us with the much anticipated ‘British Bombs’ at the end of the encore to close the night.
The protagonist popstar energy that McKenna exudes is unmatched and I’m excited to see
what’s next for the glitter loving , seltzer drinking, indie star.
Words by Holly S