More about: King Krule

It is nearly ten years since Archy Marshall released his debut album, aged 18, under the moniker King Krule, garnering critical acclaim and a devoted fan base who admired his honest storytelling and experimental style. Marshall’s work has broken the boundaries of genre, as the artist deftly fuses jazz and post-punk with hip-hop and electronic. 

Dividing his time between Liverpool and London, much of King Krule’s fourth LP Space Heavy was written on Marshall’s commutes between the two cities. On the follow-up to 2020’s ‘Man Alive’, which saw Marshall navigating fatherhood, King Krule transports listeners to outer space trading sludgier soundscapes for a lighter, airier sound. 

"It's been holding the weight of the world" he sings on ‘Flimsier’, the album’s opener, a mellow meditation exploring “the notion of the space between - the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe.” His wavering vocal across a spaced-out synth and sonorous guitar sets the tone for the record. It is followed six tracks later by ‘Flimsy’, a track also steeped in hazy synth-work. 

By contrast, the second track ‘Pink Shell’ erupts into crunchy staccato guitar lines, with Marshall’s voice at its most gravelly. Punctuated with a stunning saxophone solo, it is followed by the glistening lead single ‘Seaforth’, which takes its name from the coastal Merseyside village. It is elevated by the hushed tones of waves sweeping the shore and seagulls in the distance bringing the listener to the Mersey. 

Krule’s lyricism returns to the esoteric on ‘Tortoise of Independency’ and ‘Hamburgerphobia’, the former a wistful acoustic ballad, and the latter driven by its accelerated drumming and Marshall’s vocal delivery. 

"It is like nothing King Krule has put out before..."

It’s an album of twists and turns from the lo-fi production of ‘From the Swamp’ to the hypnotic ‘Seagirl’, spearheaded by New York singer-songwriter Raveena, whose vocals on the chorus are reminiscent of FKA Twigs. It is like nothing King Krule has put out before: a deeply captivating duet, drenched in reverb and underpinned by a woozy psychedelic guitar melody. 

The title track ‘Space Heavy’, initially performed under the title ‘Plastic Straw’ gradually builds from its gentle beginnings to a full-blown Pixies freak-out, speeding up and slowing down, as Marshall growls ‘My plastic straw’, before returning to a whisper.

‘When Vanishing’ begins with an ominous, almost funereal string overture as Raveena’s backing vocal returns and the distant thrum of mechanical-sounding percussion builds chimes throughout. 

The final track, ‘Wednesday Overcast’, like the titular weather, is underpinned by foreboding percussion, recalling Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ ‘Ghosteen’ closer ‘Hollywood.’ Marshall touches on the political but doesn’t go as far as expressing an opinion. He sings of overhearing locals in the pub (‘They spoke of the violence and racist police’) and acknowledges the government’s neglect of the North West’s forgotten towns (‘This place was forgotten from history’). 

Space Heavy is a thoughtful record, imbued with both lyrical absurdities and raw feeling, as Marshall continues to tread new ground.

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More about: King Krule