Review: Man Alive! - King Krule
By Luke Robinson
We should all know by now that Archy Marshall, London’s working class pasty ginger, is actually a reincarnated delta blues singer. As King Krule, Archy has endlessly showcased his monstrous, whisky-barrel aged baritone croon, glazing it with his thick English accent as he charges into crippling belches and screams. He commands a room in the tradition of voice-driven singer-songwriters, but his style - rooted in dissonance as much as emotional longing - is unlike any other.
6 Feet Beneath The Moon, a decade-defining (10/10) album, seamlessly fused the trip hop stylings of Portishead and Massive Attack with the post-punk onslaught of Gang of Four. The jazzy instrumentation enveloped in a spanky, Stratocaster tone only further defined his unique bent. Sadly, his last album - 2017’s the Ooz - was extremely undercooked. The lack of well-composed songs led to an album that wandered on aimlessly, without the same caliber of atmosphere and accessibility that made him of note. Based on some (surprisingly) horrendous vocals on songs like “Slush Puppy,” my college friends thought he sounded like the “U Wot M8?” Cookie Monster, and kept convincing me he was not the ginger genius of trip-hoppy post-punk I regarded him as.
But on Man Alive! , Krule returns to making compelling songs with idiosyncrasy in every detail. This is clear from album opener “Cellular,” where decaying, syrupy jazz chords slink throughout the track atop driving electronic drums. Archy vocals are robotic yet expressive, seemingly detailing the abundance of violence and technological dependance in the U.S. with lyrics like “there is a massacre across the ocean, I can see it in the palm of my hand.” Perhaps menace has become Archy's new muse, because the emotional weight and instrumental heaviness of this record is more powerful than any of his earlier material.
This is certainly the case with “Slinky,” a nightmarish mood-piece with its emotions written in blood. It’s also the case with “(Don’t Let The Dragon) Draag On”, where the feeling of being consumed by heroin is instilled in the listener, and “Energy Fleets,” where the despondent lyrics capture Archy's psyche in curt detail. Archy never shies away from intensity of this record’s mood; rather, he invites the listener in, commands their attention, and confronts them with what’s been bubbling inside him all along. Nowhere is this more evident than on “Stoned Again.” A minimal, skeletal track with a buzzing bassline, Archy lets his voice sound disgusting as the ear-worm refrain plows itself into your brain. His sense of escapism is common, but the pain he feels certainly isn’t.
If there’s anything else to take away from Man Alive!, it’s that the sound play Archy conjures is at its most captivating. The despondent energy of “Alone, Omen 3” feels sensitive and delicate, and when the theremin interplay kicks in, it almost gives Kid A a run for its money. The terrifying sound manipulations are even reminiscent of the best of Mars Volta’s material. But to ensure that the record isn’t all wailing sax and somber tones, Archy crafts beautiful soundscapes, as on the ambient “Theme for the Cross” and the “Baby Blue” spiritual sequel, “Underclass.” “Please Complete Thee” is a meditative and distant closer that is just what the album needs to end on a complete note.
Man Alive! ultimately continues King Krule’s pushing of the envelope, but effectively uses the sound palette of the Ooz to deliver something personable and well-written. The aggressive angles of the first four cuts are amazing new territory, while the rest of the album slowly dissolves to despondency and depression. Much like Earl Sweatshirt’s Some Rap Songs, Man Alive! illustrates a descent into grief with the perfect amount of insight and experimentation. As it seamlessly displays human nature at its worst, one thing’s for certain: this is Archy Marshall at his best.
BOPS: "Stoned Again," "Themes for the Cross," "The Dream"
DUDS: "Perfecto Miserable"
