King Krule Reigns at The Fox

Growing up with a mom who played The Clash in car rides home from school, and still unapologetically turns the volume up any time a Billy Bragg song comes on, King Krule always felt like a familiar sound. 

With that same raw, emotional, deep voice championed by artists like Bragg and Strummer, but incorporating jazz, and hip hop influences, King Krule’s singular sound will make you feel reflective in one moment, and like you just want to jump around in the next. 

Hailing (originally) from London, King Krule (aka Archy Marshall) brought this duality to the Fox Theater in Oakland this past Saturday night, touring his latest album release: Space Heavy. Pushing eight o’clock, a notably younger crowd filed into the sold out venue. As people settled into the once converted movie theater, opener Slauson Malone 1 took the stage. Personally, I think this was an act apt to open for an artist like Marshall. His set was full of distorted sounds as he screamed lyrics that cut through the crowd. Between these intense, deeply emotional moments, he had fun with the crowd. Between songs, he employed an air horn sample that harkened to the days of Vine, and even jumped into the audience and started performing amongst the crowd. Openers don’t usually leave an impression on me, but his set is not one I will soon forget.

After he wrapped up, the venue filled out, and anticipation for King Krule grew. Whispers of what songs he might play rang out around me as people carefully carried practically overflowing beers to their friends, and subtly lit joints. Slowly the lights in the Fox dimmed as Marshall took the stage. Fans were chanting King Krule’s name, yowling and howling and clapping as he and his band members came into view. Without hesitation Marshall started playing, opening with “Perfecto Miserable” from his 2020 album Man Alive! It was a slow, melodramatic sound that, in true King Krule fashion, got the night started. 

Marhsall then quietly signaled an album shift, “Now we’re gonna OOZ.” 

Marshall drove the energy of the pit right up with “Dum Surfer” off his 2017 album: The OOZ. This song’s heavy guitar and bass lines make you want to throw something at a wall and bang your head around. A mosh roiled as the lyrics stabbed through the air. 

Cheekily, Marshall muttered he was, “feeling like a reptile tonight.” 

Followed instantly with the sharp sax sounds heavily intertwined in, “A Lizard State” off his first album 6 Feet Beneath The Moon (2013), that kept the pit going. Yet another King Krule song that makes a person feel like they have got to get moving, and that’s exactly what everyone was doing (including me). 

He then moved through much of his latest album, Space Heavy (2023). A slew of slower, melancholic songs brought pensive consideration through the crowd. Tracks like “Tortoise of Independency,” unfurled with the audience hypnotized by Marshall’s poignantly sentimental sound, cut through by sharper sounds like the heavily resonant chords in “Flimsier.” As the opening chords for “Seagirl” spilled out into the crowd, the audience’s excitement rose to a crescendo, and as Raveena flowed onto stage to perform with Marshall. Featured on this track, she brought an ethereal layer of hypnosis to his darker hypnosis. Attendees of the Fox that night were the first to ever hear Marshall and Raveena play this song live together (!!). Raveena’s tranquility didn’t last for long as Marshall jumped into another heavy hitter: “Easy Easy.” His brutal honesty brought everyone back down to earth. Lyrics came from all directions as people belted out this classic. 

There was no shortage of fan favorites, as Marshall played through “Stoned Again,” “Baby Blue” and “Rock Bottom.” Ending his set with “It’s All Soup Now,” he left the crowd still wanting more, inciting an obligatory encore. Chants of his name echoed once more throughout the venue. Some foreshadowed what was to come, yelling “Out Getting Ribs!!” hoping that’s what they were about to hear. I think everyone knew what song was coming, but Marshall made us wait for it. He came back on stage and started slowly strumming on his guitar, toying with the crowd until those distinct chords dove deep down into “Out Getting Ribs.” Everyone’s voices came together in unison as Marshall’s stark lyrics filtered through everyone in the audience. It was my perfect ending to this show, with the first King Krule song I ever heard.  

Article and Photos by Lucy Gleeson