To call Declan McKenna precocious would be a bit of an understatement.<\/p>\n
Though he\u2019s just 19, the Englishman \u2014 who plays at the Majestic Theatre\u00a0on March 11<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 is already writing better songs than guys twice his age, and with loads more heart and insight. Like Damon Albarn or Jarvis Cocker before him, McKenna\u2019s got a sharp eye for social critique, which he couples with a bouncy brand of indie rock that\u2019s straight out of 1998. (That\u2019s also, incidentally, the year McKenna was born. Feel old yet?)<\/p>\n On his debut studio album, What Do You Think About the Car?<\/em>, McKenna navigates touchy topics, like the media\u2019s depiction of transgender teens (\u201cParacetamol<\/a>\u201d) and FIFA\u2019s exploitation of an impoverished nation (\u201cBrazil<\/a>\u201d), with wide-eyed empathy. In the hands of a lesser writer even the most well-intentioned messages might come off as clumsy, but McKenna handles them a delicate touch.<\/p>\n