Tuning myself in, what I heard was actually sweet, shameless, modern pop. The kind that just makes you want to smile because it's simply pure and real and catchy.
We then got stuck behind a maintenance lorry at some roadworks 'cause Anglian Water were digging up the pavement and I was so pleased because it meant I could hear the rest of the song without it having to battle against the engine noise (the joy of a start-stop system!) It will now forever be associated in my mind with that little section of the A131.
Anyway.... it was Declan McKenna with 'Brazil'. He was just 16 when he wrote and recorded this. He looks so young in this original video, aww! (It's since been updated - I much prefer this earlier one posted below). But reading up about him reveals a maturity beyond his years; he self-released this as his first single in August 2015 and, in spite of his lightness of touch musically, his lyrical content is darker and political - a criticism of FIFA awarding the World Cup to Brazil in 2014 without addressing the effect of the huge degree of poverty on its people.
He's touring this month and has an album out in July. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, he helps restore my faith in....oh dear, do I really have to say it like this?!.... the 'youth of today'...
Declan McKenna: Brazil
