King Krule flaunts his musical evolution on ‘The OOZ’

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King Krule flaunts his musical evolution on ‘The OOZ’

Where do I start with Archy Marshall?

That’s King Krule’s real name in case you didn’t know. The man deserves all the recognition in the world. Both of his albums, that have been released under the moniker of ‘King Krule’, have been timeless. But this is a review of ‘The OOZ’, so let’s dive right in.

I was scared, I’ll admit it. I was scared that he was going to abandon his trademark buttery guitar and in doing so, grace us all with a completely different sound. Luckily he hasn’t. The new album, ‘The OOZ’, is different enough that is stands alone, high up on its own two feet, unmeasurable if compared to ‘6 Feet Beneath The Moon’.

Archy Marshall a.k.a King Krule

The welcomed addition of a saxophone/horn section, gives the album a new feel, while bringing vibes akin to his first album. The sultry sounds of his instrumentation draws the listener in, only to be taken aback (in a good way) by his vocals. Their originality and beauty span a man far wiser than his age would allow, baritone, paving his own lane, original.

Now, I have a soon to be well documented beef, with pitchfork (how could you give Camp a 1.6?!). However, those bad boys gave King K – best new album with a 9.0.

While it is true that, much like Mac Demarco, King Krule is a classic addition to Pitchfork’s bandwagon, I must say, they are not wrong. Jason Greene writes, “ the producer born – Archy Marshall crafted The OOZ to be alien and timeless. It is the richest and most immersive album the London singer – songwriter has made yet, under any name”. I have no choice but to agree, even though it pains me to do so and even though I prefer ‘6 Feet Beneath The Moon’.

Much like Frank Ocean, King Krule has often proved hard to find. The OOZ is rich in atmosphere, often putting forth artistically crafted soundscapes, that in my opinion, may in fact have the power to open up portals to opposing realities.

Stand out track for me has to be ‘Sublunary’. “Sublunary”, or the sublunary sphere, equals a concept which originated in Greek astronomy and the work of Aristotle. It references a space beneath the moon that holds no concrete physics. A clear reference to King Krule’s previous album ‘6 Feet Beneath The Moon’, in which. Archy emphasizes dissociative feelings.

The sublunary sphere is known as a space where nothing is permanent, it is unknown; things are always shifting and taking different form. This song is a pink portrayal of the lonesomeness we see time and time again across Archy Marshall’s different pseudonyms, namely being King Krule. The idea of being alone may not just be a state of being, but an ever-changing persona that is bounded by nothing–i.e. sublunary.

King Krule magically welds together diverse and even sometimes opposing genres like he was born to do. From Punk to Grunge to Avant-Garde to New Wave to Jazz to RnB to Psych, ‘The OOZ’ is a rich and eclectic record, sprouted from a rich and eclectic mind.

Listen to it in full below:

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