Zeros

## ***Zeros***Studio album by Declan McKenna

* Digital
* Physical

## Singles

1. "Beautiful Faces"
Released: 29 January 2020
2. "The Key to Life on Earth"
Released: 14 April 2020
3. "Daniel, You're Still a Child"
Released: 8 July 2020
4. "Be an Astronaut"
Released: 3 August 2020
5. "Rapture"
Released: 3 September 2020

***Zeros*** is the fourth studio album and second major-label album by Declan McKenna. It was released worldwide on 4 September 2020 through Because Music, Columbia Records and Tomplicated Records.

## Background

Following the release of *What Do You Think About the Car?*, Declan began writing new material in his spare time while on tour and at his home in London, England, among other locations. He wrote much of it with his sister's keyboard, contrasting his previous work having been written on guitar.

Declan recorded eleven songs at Brenley Farm in Kent, England with a full band and production by Max Marlow and Ru Lemer in February 2019. This time was mainly spent figuring out how to approach the songs as a band, though the recordings were "not far off" from the final release.

A final selection of songs were recorded and produced by Jay Joyce at Neon Cross in Nashville, Tennessee, from around 27 July to 16 August 2019. Will Bishop was notably absent from these sessions due to issues with his visa, so the band had to adapt to having one less member. Upon returning to London, Declan began working on the tracklist, cutting four songs to make the album flow properly.

The album was announced on 29 January 2020 with an intended release date of 15 May. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the date was later moved to 21 August and then 4 September.

## Artwork

When brainstorming the album's track list and visual identity, Declan and Frankie Harrold developed sketches and diagrams for various aspects of the campaign, including logos and potential cover ideas. Some of these diagrams were used as the basis for Declan's makeup: a circle on the inner corner of one eye, and a diagonal stripe stemming from the other.

Frank Fieber handled the album's photography and creative direction. Sony Music Entertainment originally asked Frank to outsource this process to external art directors, but Frank went ahead in assembling "the best proposal", featuring concept art by himself and Joe Heaton. The cover photo was taken as Declan spun on a Rotor fairground ride, being held to the wall by centrifugal force. Declan jokes in behind-the-scenes footage that the idea derived from a 2019 Glastonbury performance of "Spinning Around" by Kylie Minogue.

Graphic design was done by Alex Bois, who also designed the font used for physical editions and promotional material.

Digital coverPhysical coverTypefaceConcept art
## Tracklist

### Outtakes

On 7 January 2019, Declan shared a censored list of thirty tracks and joked about rivaling the length of Zayn Malik's albums. Only fourteen songs were recorded in Nashville and four of them were removed from the final tracklist. This is a list of songs that didn't make the cut.

* "British Bombs" was considered for the album, despite having a different style and producer.
* "Don't Make a Fool of Yourself" and "Sonny" were recorded in Nashville for the album.
* "hulalola1" and "Through My Teeth" were recorded in Kent for the album. However, "Through My Teeth" was not one of the songs to be finished in Nashville.
* "Macbeth" and "hownifeel" were written in 2018 like many other songs for the album.

### Non-album

* "In Blue", whilst part of *Zeros* sessions, was written specifically for the *Moominvalley* soundtrack.
* "My House" was written after the album's completion, though its music video was sorted under *Zeros* on Giphy.
* "My Song 1" and "Dmdmdm" are connected to the album but were probably only intended for 24 Days of Christmas.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 *Zeros Zine*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CItWcQ7gKnp/
3. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt6mQc1BYuT/
4. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B1HG8E-nQFo/
5. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Os-FjHNbB/
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1222610946486607875
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1242501066450776068
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1291055875843596292
9. ↑ https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Ne3TBjoVhQNIe85Pe2iDw
10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt77oNlbvek
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1302660998860599301
12. ↑ https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-10-4547366448436
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1082354249445621760
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1082356003360964608
15. ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/declan-mc-kenna-opens-up-politically-charged-new-single-british-bombs-2539718
16. ↑ https://www.guitarworld.com/features/declan-mckenna-guitars-are-just-planks-of-wood-but-they-help-us-translate-the-most-difficult-aspects-of-life
17. ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/declan-mckenna-has-written-a-song-inspired-by-tottenhams-heung-min-son-2768055
18. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1302655572383330304
19. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1336669692585521154
20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/850zbNaS5PI
21. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1119170106729226240
22. ↑ https://giphy.com/declanmckenna/zeros