Doing what indie darling Declan McKenna does best, The Key To Life On Earth is the latest delectably upbeat track off his upcoming sophomore album, Zeros.

Opening with psychedelic synth, The Key To Life On Earth takes us on another energetic indie journey from Declan McKenna. Reflecting on the mundanity of life and the battles we have to wage within ourselves to keep living it, the indie darling has once again trapped these feelings within pleasant chords and a toe-tapping drumline. Lyrics like “Call in to wake you up in the morning / Iron your suit and tie forever till you die / Join forces like carousels and their horses forever spinning round” remind us of the cyclical patterns society locks itself into. This is reflected in the music video.

In a suburban backdrop featuring McKenna’s real-life doppelgänger, Alex Lawther from Netflix’s ‘End Of The F***ing World’, we watch as two very similar people grow in conflict with one another. At first, everything is grand; they agree on everything and cruise through life. Quick enough, Alex becomes a ball of aggressive negativity, fighting Declan at every turn. This physical representation of a mental health struggle is a reminder of how often negative emotions win control. The video ends as it started with McKenna in his Beautiful Faces dressing room, leaving the sentiment that no matter what battle you wage, you have no choice but to get up and do it all over again.

Speaking on how the video for The Key To Life On Earth came together, McKenna explained:

Alex Lawther is someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time, I enjoyed watching his roles in Carnage, Black Mirror and The End Of The F***ing world, and I was trying to get in contact after seeing how much people compared us online. We hung out at the Extinction Rebellion and I ended up playing him some of my album. We were both keen to work together but syncing up timewise was pretty challenging. We eventually pulled together with the video’s director Will Hooper who has helped to put together most of my video projects for this record so far, and with more ridiculous ideas than you could shake a vegan cream tea at; we finally managed to lock in a date to make this video – and just in time as it turns out.

Though originally slated for a May release, Declan McKenna’s new album Zeros will now drop on August 21st.