Declan McKenna What Happened to the Beach?
Released Feb 9, 2024 Tomplicated Inc.
Consensus forming 3 professional reviews Updated Oct 4, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. Declan McKenna's What Happened to the Beach?
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Sympathy
2 critic mentions
“Lead single ‘Sympathy’ mixes ’80s-style TV theme music with glam” — Hot Press
WOBBLE
1 critic mention
“opener ‘Wobble’ lets you know that stuff is going to get weird, but good weird” — Hot Press
Elevator Hum
2 critic mentions
“the soothing chorus of “Elevator Hum” assessing that the “mechanisms” of polite society” — The Line of Best Fit
Full critic consensus
Declan McKenna's What Happened to the Beach? announces a confident, shape-shifting leap: across three professional reviews the record earned an 83.33/100 consensus score, and critics largely agree it channels playful pastiche into something more purposeful. Opening track “WOBBLE” sets a gleeful tone, while “Sympathy”, “Elevator Hum” and “Mezzanine” repeatedly emerge as standout tracks praised for their hooks, grooves and emotional clarity.
Critics praise the album's eclecticism and maturity, noting refined ideas beneath its genre-hopping surface. Reviewers compare McKenna's palette to Bowie, Velvet Underground and Beatles-era touches, and point to retro influences that sit alongside modern pop craft. Across the professional reviews, “Sympathy” is singled out for candid vulnerability and TV-theme glam, “Elevator Hum” for its soothing chorus and mighty groove, and “Mezzanine” for its subdued brass and intimacy. DIY Magazine and The Line of Best Fit both celebrate the record's ambition and self-acceptance, with only occasional reservations about brief closing moments.
Taken together, the critical consensus suggests What Happened to the Beach? is a decisive, often joyful collection that balances playfulness with introspection. For listeners searching for the best songs on What Happened to the Beach? or wondering if the album is worth listening to, the consensus score across three reviews and repeated praise for tracks like “WOBBLE”, “Sympathy” and “Elevator Hum” make a strong case for its place as a key step in McKenna's evolving catalog.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
WOBBLE
Elevator Hum
I Write the News
Sympathy
Mulholland's Dinner and Wine
Breath of Light
Nothing Works
The Phantom Buzz (Kick In)
Honest Test
Mezzanine
It's an Act
4 More Years
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Declan McKenna turns inward on What Happened to the Beach?, and the best songs here - notably “Sympathy” and “Mezzanine” - crystallise his newfound intimacy and charm. The reviewer revels in his candid vulnerability, noting how “Sympathy” asks listeners to allow their "stupid and carefree sides to shine through" while “Mezzanine” with its subdued brass insists "you’re someone no one else can be." Elsewhere, the soothing chorus of “Elevator Hum” exposes the breakdown of social mechanisms, reinforcing why these tracks are the best songs on What Happened to the Beach?. The voice throughout is admiring and measured, celebrating a daring, personal turn that makes these standout tracks feel unmistakably Declan.
Key Points
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“Sympathy” is the best song for its potent, vulnerable invitation to embrace a carefree, authentic self.
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The album’s core strength is its intimate focus on identity and self-acceptance, delivered with restrained ambition.
Themes
Ho
Critic's Take
Declan McKenna's What Happened to the Beach? rushes through genres with a madcap, gleeful mastery, and the best songs - notably “WOBBLE”, “Elevator Hum” and “Sympathy” - show that range off to brilliant effect. Will Russell's prose is quickened and affectionate, calling opener “WOBBLE” a signal that "stuff is going to get weird, but good weird," while praising “Elevator Hum” for its mighty groove and “Sympathy” for its '80s TV-theme glam. The reviewer leans into specific comparisons - Bowie, Velvet Underground, Flaming Lips - to explain why these tracks stand out on What Happened to the Beach?. Overall the record's eclecticism becomes its strength, each standout song serving as a clear coordinate in McKenna's playful map of influences.
Key Points
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Opener “WOBBLE” is the album's defining moment, setting its weird-but-good tone.
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The record's core strength is its breathless genre-hopping and affectionate pastiche of retro influences.
Themes
Critic's Take
Declan McKenna's What Happened to the Beach? feels like a confident step forward, equal parts refined ideas and original execution. The review highlights the best tracks as “Breath of Light” and “The Phantom Buzz (Kick In)” for their off-kilter percussion and riff-led swagger, while louche grooves on “Honest Test” and “Mezzanine” keep the record lively. Daisy Carter's tone is appreciative and exacting, noting a Beatles-tinged turn on “I Write The News” that underlines Declan's ambition. There is one small question mark around the brief closer “4 More Years”, but overall the album is praised as his most eclectic, decisive offering yet.
Key Points
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Breath of Light is the best song for its off-kilter percussion and demonstration of the album's originality.
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The album's core strengths are eclectic arrangements, Beatles-inspired melodies, and confident, refined songwriting.