Review: King Krule - Man Alive!
(Image via Instagram @edgar_the_breathtaker)
He’s alive! The King (Krule) himself has emerged from the depths of the deep blue to bring this album to shore (I watched The Lighthouse last night, can’t you tell?). Man Alive! is the third album 25 year old Brit Archy Marshall has released during his decade long career. Marshall has released occasional solo EP/LPs and collaborates with jazz artist Jamie Issac and with electronic duo Mount Kimbie interspersed in the mix. The best way to describe King Krule’s overarching genre is a ‘punk-jazz.’ There is an eeriness to the music, a sound that could be used for a camp-y Frankenstein/Monster Mash movie. King Krule’s consistent sound is reminiscent of the nostalgic desolation felt in paintings by Edward Hopper.
Marshall is a new father, and this new role is reflected in Man Alive! which is the most optimistic and upbeat album in Krule’s discography. This album also explores the inner demons that Marshall encounters in this new role, heard in “Stoned Again.” Marshall screeches in his signature aggressive, low wailing “I’m stoned again / I’m high again boy / I’m stoned again / I’m low again” alluding to Marshall reassuming a habitual activity that makes him reminiscent of simpler times. The underwater bass, classic guitar riffs, and trumpet swells of this song collide to create an anxiety induced headache, enough to leave the room if you mimic the mood that Marshall evokes.
“The Dream” cools the tension that the first four songs convey out of listeners. With bossa nova guitar chords dreamily playing in the background, Marshall in a confessional reverie admits, “I wasn’t sure at all why our love / Becomes sorrow and withers free / Ran a firework of dogs to walk with me / Felt this warm / Marching forth / I feel this warmth / Marching forth / We could be.” Marshall embodies the hope of what is to come, perhaps an allusion to the nearing arrival of his daughter during the making of this album.
His most uplifting song to date, “Alone, Omen 3” has guitar chords that sound like crunchy granola soaked in milk for five minutes with a side of jazzy guitar riffs. He coaches his lover, “So you got this, you’re the lead, feel your own / Battle through it, consume it, then let it go girl / But don’t forget you’re not alone / Deep in the metropole.” These endearing words come to a big surprise when reflecting on Marshall’s tone in previous albums. These lyrics show a sign of a new dawn for Marshall; with the anticipation of the birth of his daughter, he must restructure his lifestyle and reflect on his overall life intentions through a different lens. Man Alive! Is the product of this transition from youthful selfishness to paternal warmth.
Archy gives a very cinematic resolution to this album, with “Energy Fleets” making listeners feel like they are preparing to slowly transcend into the ether, en route to the heavens. Life continues to sprout in this song, like the sight of lush foliage after dewy morning showers. In an echo-y, chanting reverb Marshall admits “Such a funny life I lead / I think about it every time / I sleep,” an acknowledgement of life’s absurdities. Something I retort to myself often, before I go to sleep.
King Krule never fails to disappoint his cult-like following. His sound has branched out throughout the years, but has also maintained the same ‘intellectual-sadboi stoner’ aura fans have identified with for so long. There is a sense of maturity in this album, in comparison to the angsty and exhausting The Ooz from 2017 and the genre-bending flexibility of 6 Feet Beneath the Moon released in 2013. Archy Marshall is truly an established auteur in indie music, a maverick in fusing experimental and straight jazz with mosh pit guitars and the vocals of a drunken lighthouse keeper.
Favorite Songs: Cellular, Perfecto Miserable, Alone, Omen 3, Energy Fleets
