Declan McKenna's Third Studio Album, 'What Happened To The Beach?'

Declan McKenna's third album, What Happened To The Beach? is out today. Declan McKenna spoke to Paste Magazine about his new album, who say “it's hard for artists to seamlessly reinvent themselves in a way that doesn't feel like a cop-out. For McKenna, it feels not just like a natural progression, but a cosmic and freeing necessity.”

McKenna also provided an in-depth, track-by-track guide to the album which you can read here via Consequence, who say of the album, “The album sees McKenna continuing to develop a more relaxed style, allowing for the psychedelic and pop components to shine through even more brilliantly.”

“The songs sound a lot like the music I listen to,” McKenna says about the new album, citing St Vincent (“She takes the guitar to a really cool place. Everything can be manipulated”) and Unknown Mortal Orchestra's hypnotic and spacey energy as influences. Musically, you feel the freedom in the sound of a songwriter enjoying himself.

“I wanted to open up and not worry about things so much,” McKenna says, “I was putting a lot of pressure on myself in the past when I just needed to drop the intensity a bit and have some fun.” What Happened To The Beach? is available on all formats here.

Recently, Declan McKenna shared the music video for “Mulholland's Dinner and Wine,” the latest single from What Happened To The Beach? Watch the music video for “Mulholland's Dinner and Wine,” directed by Henry Pearce and Jake Passmore, here.

What Happened To The Beach? finds McKenna shedding a metaphorical skin. If his previous works were that of a young musician trying to find his place in the world, his latest is a musician taking heed of his own experience trusting his instincts. It's a nimble record, written and recorded under the California sun with playful grooves and loose structures.

The new record is released amidst Declan's cover of ABBA's “Slipping Through My Fingers” which gained both popularity and notoriety on social media, entering the Billboard TikTok US Viral chart at #10 and climbing. It's Declan's second viral hit on the platform after debut single Brazil became a standout, several years after its original release.