Album Review: King Krule’s Man Alive!

Archy Marshall has grown up. The 25-year-old Londoner behind post-punk act King Krule recently got married, had a baby girl, and moved from South London to Wigan. Hey World!, a short film featuring four new songs and directed by his partner, Charlotte Patmore, surfaced in November, building hype for an upcoming album. Finally, on February 21st, Man Alive! was released on Matador Records. Partway through recording, Archy found out Charlotte was pregnant, and their daughter, Marina, was born prior to finishing the album. Shorter than 2017’s The OOZ at only 14 songs and around 40 minutes in runtime, Man Alive! deals with the changing nature of Archy’s world and his longing to live in the moment.  

Sonically, the album is split into pieces.  Punk, heavy trip-hop beats, and guttural basslines dominate the beginning, while the last third deals in atmospheric textures sprinkled with jazz tinges. Archy’s deep industrial growl, half rapping, half singing, with a distinct Cockney accent, is one of the most recognizable features of King Krule’s sound. The joys of love and fatherhood collide with Archy’s mental torments, forming a dim optimism beneath a thick fog of depression and anxiety. 

Man Alive! is stripped down, raw, and skeletal compared to The OOZ, which sometimes suffered from its fatiguing run time and dense production.  Simultaneously, it is a less ambitious project, lacking the dizzying exertion of its predecessor. Only four instruments can be credited on the album: guitars, saxophone, drums, and the occasional piano/synth.  Ultimately, this serves the album well, making it feel breathable and highlighting Archy’s stellar lyricism. However, I can’t help wishing for some more fleshed-out songs on here, in the vein of “Cellular”, “Alone Omen 3”, or “Stoned Again”.  What some songs lack in driving force they make up for in atmosphere and emotion, and you can’t deny Archy’s ability to construct worlds with his songwriting. 

Supermarkets filled with propaganda, electricity towers looming over the landscape, cell phones creating isolation rather than connection — these are the images Archy explores. Aquatic metaphors from The OOZ spill over into Man Alive!, and the droning bass lines and ambient background noise conjure up a rainy, gray London soundscape.  One of the best songs on the album, “Alone, Omen 3” is the spiritual successor to “The Ooz”. Now, Archy answers his cries of desperation: “Is anybody out there?” is met with the affirmation: “You’re not alone”. “Theme for the Cross” sounds like an extension of tracks like “Bermondsey Bosom (Left)” and “Sublunary”, with its watery synths and whispered Spanish overlaying a saxophone melody that wanders in and out of cars driving through the rain. “Stoned Again”, recorded way back in 2016, delivers the same heavy aggression and impact of “The Locomotive”, albeit with a more drum-driven melody. 

“Everything just constantly letting me down,” Archy sings on “Please Complete Thee”. The world hasn’t changed. Despite this, Archy’s perception of the world has shifted.  On “Energy Fleets”, Archy sings “Such a funny life… I lead”. Bringing Marina into the world, and seeing endless goodness and love in her, has enabled Archy to live more in the moment. Rather than cry, he laughs at the depths and absurdities of life.

Article by Everett Williams