Declan McKenna Returns With New Single 'Sympathy'

The track premieres today as Radio 1’s Hottest Record, alongside a video directed by Will Hooper (IDLES, Dua Lipa), filmed on location in Camber Sands, East Sussex.

By: Michael Major Jul. 06, 2023

Declan McKenna returns with new single "Sympathy," his first new music of the year, and the first to be lifted from the follow-up to his acclaimed second album Zeros, which debuted at #2 in the UK album chart, back in Summer 2020.

The track premieres today as Radio 1’s Hottest Record, alongside a video directed by Will Hooper (IDLES, Dua Lipa), filmed on location in Camber Sands, East Sussex.

"Sympathy" represents the effortless and uncomplicated style of writing that McKenna has been focusing on. “It was important to use fewer words and not over-explain things this time around,” McKenna confirms. By stripping away the layers he found that his songwriting became more revealing and, ultimately, satisfying too.

Declan on "Sympathy": “'Sympathy' doesn’t have a complex message, and, in itself, encourages simplicity and directness. It feels like a dream about love and compassion, it wants us to let go of inhibitions and allow ourselves to truly connect with others rather than overthinking and hiding your feelings away. Or put even simpler, it’s about peace and love.”

It's a buoyant and bold leftfield pop song, skittering along in the sunshine with chiming organs, shuffling beats, a smattering of handclaps, and Declan’s innate ear for both tone and melody.

He found that sunshine in abundance out in Los Angeles where the track was recorded alongside producer Gianluca Buccellati, perhaps best known for his work with Arlo Parks on her Mercury Prize winning debut album “Collapsed In Sunbeams”, and Lana Del Rey. The track was mixed by David Wrench (David Byrne, Jamie xx, Frank Ocean, Glass Animals).

Creating that distance from home offered Declan the time and space that’s inhabited his new music too. "Sympathy" immediately feels like a renewed burst of energy and enthusiasm for the young Brit, which finds him in scintillating form.

On July 11th, McKenna will kick off leg 2 of his 50+ date North American tour, in cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, NYC, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and more (full dates below). Declan returns to the UK later this summer, perched high up the billing (just behind headliner Billie Eilish on the main stage) at the Reading & Leeds Festival in August.

Declan McKenna’s Big Return Tour Dates

Photo Credit: Henry Pearce

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