Capturing the essence of events that impacted society deeply throughout the global pandemic, DD focuses energy and attention on a story that cuts to the core of 18 months' worth of everyday struggles.
Through this comes his new single ‘Paper Masks’ — a song written about the time which affected everyone. And still does.
Watching the news as the cases rose and the people endured successive UK lockdowns, DD Allen used his potent storytelling to craft another hook-laden, powerful indie rock track with a distinct 80s influence.
From early incarnations, the song took creative twists and turns as Allen battled to record through successive restrictions.But producer Dave Griffiths steered the wheel with vigour while Barny Barnicott (Sam Fender, Kasabian) took control of the mix to define the final sonic direction.
The result is an anthemic ode to responsibility. The message hits hard, arriving with a permanent sense of realism — driven by DD Allen’s unique, swooning vocal and a synth-led guitar attack.
The song finds a permanent sense of hope as it crescendos with DD Allen’s all too familiar dose of soaring riffs — bringing ‘Paper Masks’ to an epic finale in a riveting guitar solo.
A signature ending to a signature track — with an all-encompassing realisation that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for us all. DD Allen captures that essence with guile and class.  Speaking on the creation behind Paper Masks, DD explains: “2020 and 2021 divided opinions, stoked a disconnect across generations and brought racial tensions to a peak. But at the end of the day, we’re all in this together. I wanted Paper Masks to reflect the turmoil. And carry a message that whoever we are, whatever we do, if we pass the buck on responsibility, then karma wins the sweepstakes."
Paper Masks is available to stream or download from your favourite media provider.