Review: The Key to Life on Earth by Declan McKenna
By Sophie Minello
Twins Declan McKenna and Alex Lawther debut in “The Key to Life on Earth.” Well, not really twins, but this was the collaboration that we all need right now. This surprise release is McKenna’s second single since his debut album. It sounds like a perfect Declan McKenna song. The melody is perfectly infectious. Lyrically, the song is describing a teenage small town kind of lifestyle. He goes through with the tropes, the hottie that everyone has a crush on, bullies, rich kids, popular groups. All the while, Declan is observing them. He told Radio 1 Future Sounds that the song is about himself growing up in suburbia, saying “I grew up in a very suburban world, and I wrote this song sort of based around areas of suburbia and the stuff I saw. In a way, it reflects how I feel about how hostile human relationships can be and how humans can be towards each other despite how similar they often are. It’s thinking about all those things and thinking about hostility when generally it all just comes from a place that’s solvable, or resolvable.”
The music video brings the tune to a whole new level. Alex Lawther, the co-star in the masterpiece, is recognizable for his iconic roles in Black Mirror and End of the F**king World. His role in this video perfectly follows his ‘there is more to this character than you think’ trope. Declan stated that the song is about mundanity and hostility. Each character seems to symbolize one of these words. Throughout the video, these low-key doppelgangers are shown constantly butting heads. The story line is funny and intriguing, playing out as if it’s an episode of Black Mirror itself. It is surely a must watch.
This is the second single release for Declan’s much anticipated sophomore album, Zeroes, out August 21, 2020.