REVIEW
By Isabelle Link, Staff Reporter
King Krule graced the public with their newest studio album titled ‘Man Alive!’ released Feb. 21 through the record labels True Panther Sounds, XL Recordings and Matador.
This makes their fourth studio album, which was dropped a few years after their latest release titled ‘The Ooz’ that was released Oct. 13, 2017.
King Krule is known to have a couple of years between their album releases, and not a lot of bands can get away with slow drops, but this just gives great evidence that King Krule is the kind of band that the audience and fans stay attached to despite the years between new releases.
For example, ‘6 Feet Beneath the Moon’ was their first studio release back in 2015, but it hasn’t aged poorly at all in those five years. That album can still be played front to back, middle to beginning and be just as good as when it first dropped.
I believe Archy Marshall, also known as Edgar the Breathtaker, who is the lead singer of King Krule is a leading cause of this devoted fan base. While King Krule is comprised of six other members and they all have a very important role in the band, it is Marshall’s voice that separates this band from others. Similar to Freddie Mercury or Brandon Urie, his voice can be picked out from a crowd because of how independent he sounds compared to other singers. This gives King Krule a platform that a lot of other bands can’t reach.
Before the latest album release of ‘Man Alive!’ Marshall had a few changes in his life, including becoming a father and leaving his place in London to become a family man, and it comes out in the sound of this album. ‘Ooz’ has a darker touch. The album reflects Marshall’s gritty life, similar to their past albums, breaking these feelings down through the music videos and the overall tone of the songs. For example, ‘Dum Surfer’ from ‘The Ooz’ starts off with a low exposed shot, and fades into a gloomy set, with people who are washed out in a dingy, smoky room. Though the song transitions to a surf tone with the electric guitar, the video itself continues to look like a low-resolution video with a gray gloom hovering over it.
In contrast, in his newest album, the song ‘Cellular’ is a colorful cartoon, stylized like a 1980s show with hand drawn art, and the quality of the video is significantly higher. Perhaps this shows the transition in Archy Marshall’s life, going from the streets to a family lifestyle.
Despite the transitions this band takes, and changes that have occurred, King Krule still keeps their signature style of weird music videos and slightly confusing visuals that nicely complement Marshall’s beautiful Welsh accent and beautiful instrumentals the fans can always rely on.
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