Declan Mc Kenna: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Bob Boilen, January 3, 2017 It d be easy to look and listen to this young English singer and think he s just another sensitive songwriter with a guitar, singing about his troubles. But Declan McKenna writes about a much bigger world than you or I might expect from a singer who only recently turned 18. He came to NPR this past summer, a bit nervous but passionate. He stripped down three of his songs to their musical essence, and the power of their words eclipsed the hooks for which they re equally known. Bethlehem tackles religion: Because I m in Bethlehem I ve got a seat in heaven And though I m heaven sent I can do as I want and you don t have the right to choose McKenna s most famous tune, Brazil, is a song about football, money and poverty that also touches on religion. I ve been reading about the early years of Leonard Cohen in the wake of his death reading about the poet before the singer, thinking about how young artists blossom. When they re good, their songs and ideas are spare and boiled d