Album Review: King Krule Reaches Creative Limbo on 'Man Alive!'

Archy Marshall’s recent life changes lead to an artistic metamorphosis on his third album under the King Krule moniker.

Written by C.S. Harper

Image courtesy of XL Recordings and Matador Records

At this point in his career, King Krule (born Archy Marshall) has become a legend in indie rock circles. His baritone growl, iconic red hair, and unique fusion of punk, jazz, and hip-hop have become synonymous with his stage name.

His debut album, 2013’s 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, introduced listeners to the contemplative atmosphere, major seventh chords, and angsty lyrics that came to define his music. On his sophomore album The OOZ, King Krule introduced harsher punk and more dominant jazz elements to his music. Although The OOZ felt overindulgent at times with the abundance of atmospheric interludes, it saw Marshall’s growth as a creative visionary.

Three years later, King Krule has returned with his long-awaited Man Alive! In the time leading up to this release, Marshall entered a relationship with partner Charlotte Patmore; the couple welcomed their first child in March 2019. The hiatus also brought a relocation from London to west England. These major life changes permeated into his music as he steps away on Man Alive! from his previously established creative vision. This album strips away the artistic voice that Marshall set up for himself, trading jazz punk for lo-fi synth rock. Rather than fleshing out his signature sound, the record takes some of the worst elements of The OOZ and amplifies them, creating tracks that sound derivative of those filler songs.

From the start, Man Alive!’s flaws are clear. Although The OOZ has interludes that bring little to its narrative, their simple compositions space out the denser songs on the album. On Man Alive!, almost every song feels like an interlude — only Marshall tries to pack too much complexity into each song’s short runtime. As a result, Marshall introduces too many sonic ideas, none of them developed enough to create compelling songs.

The opening track, “Cellular,” introduces listeners to the muddled sound that predominates the album. It features a variety of incoherent, alien-sounding synths, and vocal samples under Marshall’s rhythmic singing. Despite its clunky production, this song shows that Marshall’s pen game has remained strong, showcasing his usual cryptic lyrics about isolation and lost love. Similarly, “Perfecto Miserable” balances the moody and dreamy facets typical of a King Krule song. The track’s changing tone keeps it interesting, but its production feels too compressed at points, making it difficult to appreciate any intricacies in the instrumentation. 

However, “Perfecto Miserable” is lyrically one of the most beautiful tracks on the album. It’s a simple love song in which Marshall leaves a voicemail telling his love interest how much he misses and loves her. He captures the feeling of longing for a loved one in the most haunting way possible, crooning, “And when I’m left alone, it’s so damaging / And in this violence, the walls cave in / I’m not able to escape at all.”

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Patmore

Despite its rough start, Man Alive! picks up the pace with tracks like “Supermarché.” According to Marshall in a Pitchfork interview, “‘Supermarché’ talks about propaganda and brainwashing, in the sense of how the media can … influence anyone to believe something.” It begins with sparse drumming and a minimalistic bass line, but as Marshall sings about people’s growing paranoia in the chorus, dissonant guitars layer on top of each other. Despite the sonic and thematic strengths of “Supermarché,” its short runtime impedes it from being a memorable song. Its sonic motifs play for too short a time for the listener to appreciate, and the song drifts away quickly without making an impact.

Another album highlight, “Comet Face,” features an infectious bass line, a saxophone, and lively beat interweaving over a sample of Otis Redding’s “Tramp” to create a menacing punk sound. Lyrically, it offers a glimpse into the way that Marshall’s perception of drugs changed over time. Known to be an avid pothead, Marshall expresses distaste for drugs after witnessing their negative effects, claiming that he is now “glad to decline” an offer to take them.

“(Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On” proves that Marshall is still capable of creating an appealing short song. It’s a woozy but simple track, with only drums and a guitar accompanying Marshall’s voice. Marshall sings as if he were in a stupor, discussing the toll that depression takes on him: “I keep telling those, expelling those / Negative holes to go away / But it seems to grip more everyday.”

“Alone, Omen 3” contradicts the person that Marshall presented himself as on “(Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On.” It features the cleanest production on the album, with grungy guitars and a jazz drum beat that make for a carefree sound. It is also the most cheerful track Marshall has ever written, detailing the emotional support of a healthy relationship. He reassures his lover that he will reciprocate her company as she experiences hardships: “Every minute, every second, you’re not alone.”

After this poignant moment on “Alone, Omen 3,” the album falls back into its subdued vibe. “Slinky” and “Airport Antenatal Airplane” have some of the most muddled mixing on Man Alive!, as the distorted synths clash with organic guitars, flutes, and saxophones to create a wall of sound that overshadows Marshall’s voice. Like “Supermarché,” the short duration and lack of structure on these tracks bog them down. By reverting back to dark sounds and themes, these songs undermine the character arc that Marshall tries to craft on the album. 

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Patmore

Despite Man Alive’s fundamental flaws, its last songs bring redeeming qualities to the album. “Underclass” brings back aspects of Marshall’s older music as the synths take a backseat to mellow guitars and saxophones that form an airy soundscape. Marshall reintroduces the moon motif that characterized his previous albums, singing, “The moon hangs above / Makes judgement of all of us.” On this track, Marshall has come full circle. He opens up about his relationship, showing how it has helped him reach the peace of mind he teased on “Alone, Omen 3.”

After Marshall delves into his current mental state, he ends the album with a song that presents his older self. On “Please Complete Thee,” he expresses his longing for a past lover and disillusion with the world: “Please complete me / It must be the answer / Everything just seems to be numbness around.” Like the opening track, Man Alive!’s closer deals with the typical themes that Marshall explores in previous albums. Whereas this mental state feels natural on “Cellular,” it seems like a relic from his past on “Please Complete Thee.” As such, Man Alive!’s closing track allows the listener to reflect on the way that Marshall’s mental state transformed over the course of the album.

Man Alive! is Marshall’s most personal record yet. It documents Marshall’s emotional transformation before and after fatherhood, but it does so with little grace. Because Marshall started Man Alive! before this major life change and completed it afterward, the album feels disjointed. Whereas gloominess and angst connected the songs on his previous albums, the inconsistent tone of Man Alive! only worsens the lack of cohesion within its tracks. 

Despite the sonic chaos of this album, its lyrics offer a silver lining for the King Krule fans. Songs like “Alone, Omen 3” and “Underclass” present Marshall in a new light, as he enters a happy relationship and a positive headspace. Man Alive! is a rough patch in Marshall’s discography, but it also signifies the beginning of a new era for King Krule.