What Do You Think About the Car?

"The album is about me being playful and positive about not necessarily happy topics ... That's what I'm like as a character. I try not to be too distant from serious topics as well. The two go together."

What Do You Think About The Car? is the third studio album and debut major-label album by Declan McKenna. It was released worldwide on July 21, 2017, through Columbia Records.

The album title is based on a personal anecdote, a home video from Declan’s own childhood where his sister can be heard asking this very question, to which we hear his response, "and now I’m going to sing my new album".

Background
In 2015, at the age of 16, McKenna won the Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition, and started writing songs for the album soon after, while still in school. Writing went on for the next year. McKenna says:

"There were a lot of changes, and I think you can hear that within some of the songs on the record. Quite a big part of the album is about change and being confused."

He composed most of the album in his bedroom, except for "Listen to Your Friends".

Title
When McKenna was four years old, his family got a new Toyota Previa. In a home video that captured the moment, McKenna's sister asks, "Dec, what do you think about the car?" to which he replies, "It's really good, and now I'm going to sing my new album."

The album's opening song, "Humongous" has the audio clip of the exchange as its intro.

Singles
The album received a total of six singles, all of which released prior to the album.

"Isombard", the lead single of the album, was released on September 2, 2016. A music video for it was released on the same day.

"The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home", the second single of the album, was released on January 11, 2017. A music video for it was released nine days later, on January 20.

"Humongous", the last single before the official release of the album, was released on June 9, 2017. A music video for it was released on the same day.

Three previous singles from the EPs Stains and Liar were also featured on the album, those being "Brazil", "Paracetamol", and "Bethlehem".

Chart performance
The album experienced moderate chart success in Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. In Japan, it debuted and peaked at number 241, and in Belgium at number 130. In Ireland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom, the album entered the top 30s, peaking at 26, 8, and 11 respectively.

Cut songs

 * "Howl"
 * "Midwest"