McKenna has matured in the eyes of critics and fans alike. He’s left the voice cracks of ‘Brazil’ behind and now oozes with confidence on Zeros, both lyrically and sonically. His activist streak runs through the album but is balanced wonderfully with bright, albeit realistic, depictions of the world we’re growing up in. The glam rock sound of Zeros is familiar, drawing you in with its space-age synths and crisp guitar but McKenna isn’t painting a lightning strike on his face with this record — he’s soundtracking our mad modern world with an informed, thoughtful voice, and pop rock melodies.
With opener ‘You Better Believe!!!’, we’re blasting off and barrelling into space (those exclamation marks are there for a reason). McKenna’s falsettos that drift in and out would make T. Rex proud and the glam-rock influences don’t stop here. Enchanting piano and theatrical guitar warble as if possessed by the ghost of Bowie in ‘Be An Astronaut’. Even two tracks into the album, we’ve left life on Mars, done a donut in outer space, and have landed on an alien Earth.
Daily news can border on the farcical and the impending doom due to a plethora of societal, environmental and political issues is unavoidable. Luckily, Zeros put all these worries to music so at the very least, we can dance as the world burns. McKenna shines on ‘Daniel, You’re Still A Child’ and ‘Rapture’, tracks that place our rotten reality under a magnifying glass. Preposterously catchy, McKenna’s mellow voice hits every note like a modern Pied Piper of catastrophe pop.
A magnificent chaos reverberates throughout the album in experimental bridges and vocal outcries. ‘Twice Your Size’ leaves you spellbound as the cosmic motifs continue whilst ‘Beautiful Faces’ describes our shapeshifting generation, one that thrives on affirmation and compliments. There is no lack of energy and McKenna comes across as a seasoned musician, delivering a fully realised album filled with electronic flourishes.
We’re brought back down to Earth with ‘Eventually, Darling’. According to McKenna, it was the first track written for the album, fuelling the themes of change and mad modernity. It’s a gentle track that grows into a rock anti-ballad, as there’s no romance between us terrestrials and our planet. McKenna’s robotic voice has us looking up at the stars in hope as he asks ‘would you do it again?’.
Zeros doesn’t duck and hide behind shiny pop songs in the face of a confusing and desperate present, and McKenna doesn’t let us forget the selfishness and craziness of our world. He asks us aboard his spaceship to look at the world below us, to drink in the apocalypse but dance whilst it’s happening.
