Despite the mostly teenage audience, there is nothing inherently childish about Declan McKenna’s music. While his first records took a catchy guitar-led indie rock sound and inflected it with a dash of glam, his latest has jumped wholeheartedly into the same 60s-esque psychedelic textures explored by acts such as Tame Impala and MGMT. With a stage set and light show to match this maximalist sound, McKenna brings us a spirited pop funfair.

Starting with the bouncing synth lines of ‘Sympathy’, McKenna’s show mostly oscillates between recent album What Happened To The Beach? and debut What Do You Think About The Car? while mostly ignoring 2020’s Zeros. Some of the set may feel somewhat interchangeable and lacking in personality, the audience never seems to mind, with each song receiving a bigger shriek than the last. The five-piece band are tight (despite some technical issues plaguing guitarist Isabel Torres) and easily bring to life the more sonically ambitious sounds of his most recent album.

The night ends strongly with an encore that includes an Abba cover and McKenna climbing through his audience for the pop-punk protest of ‘British Bombs’. Despite some lulls around the halfway point, McKenna delivers a well-polished pop-rock spectacle that would satisfy anyone, regardless of age. 

Declan McKenna reviewed at Edinburgh Playhouse as part of Edinburgh; main picture: Andrew Perry.