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Sep 29, 2020 By Caleb Campbell Model Child

LA-based songwriter and musician Danny Parker, aka Model Child, first broke into the music industry as a writer, co-writing hits for Shawn Mendes, Nick Jonas, and Britney Spears, as well as six cuts on Jessie Ware’s latest album. Yet, Parker approaches his own music differently than the pop hits he’s penned for other artists. On his upcoming debut record, Dropout, Parker delves into the styles of his youth, bridging elements of grunge and 1990s alt rock with his talent for an irresistible hook.

Although Model Child departs from pop songwriting in aesthetics, his newest single, “Cuckoo,” is as slick and hook-laden as ever. Complete with handclaps and a bouncing chorus, it’s a skillful melding of scuzzy indie rock and pop sensibilities. Parker explores his mental state fresh out recounts of the Virginia suburbs he grew up in as a queer misfit. His debauched lyrical vignettes recall drug-addled hookups and drunkenly playing in a campus fountain before waking up in a cop car. Parker comes off simultaneously intoxicated by the freedom and on the verge of disaster. He sings, “I’m on the edge of something new / And it feels so beautiful / I think I found my special place / And it feels so beautiful / Cuckoo / I’m going cuckoo crazy.”

The video is similarly offbeat, visually portraying the many aspects of Parker’s Model Child persona. Parker and director Nesto pull inspiration from cult icons such as Divine, Marilyn Manson, Gary Wilson, and Michael Alig to create the characters of the video. Each transition is marked by a fall, so the kinetic feel to the video, along with the trippy animations and body morphs, lets Parker deploy the more bizarre side of Model Child.

Parker explains, “I think about these different personalities or different facets of Model Child and how we all contain different personalities or different parts of ourselves that make up our identity. I think the craziness can come in when one isn’t able to contain all of them…With the song itself, a lot of the lyrics actually happened. They’re kind of embellished in moments. But I think I was at a point where I was trying to find out who I was and I was trying on different people. I think it kind of got out of control at a certain point. I think eventually by going out of control and trying on these different roles, putting on different outfits, I was able to explore and find a deeper sense of self.” Check out the song below and be on the lookout for Model Child’s debut record, releasing October 16th.