About mid-way through Man Alive! — Archy Marshall’s third studio LP as King Krule — a telephone rings; the mood changes. Another lonely night becomes you’re not alone. Those who have been following the Central London artist’s work over the last (almost) decade might notice a familiarity: the last time we heard this same telephone ring was on the intro to “A Lizard State,” the hyper centerpiece of his 2013 debut 6 Feet Beneath the Moon — a song where he made no attempt at hiding the immaturity-fed misogyny of his 18-year-old self (“you’re a bunch of fat bitches / you motherfucking fat bitches!”). The lyrics were cringeworthy at the time and they clearly haven’t aged well; but Marshall, now 25, most definitely has — both as a songwriter and as a human. On Man Alive!, he builds off of the most enjoyable elements of his prior records: the previously mentioned debut; 2015’s hip-hop inspired, sampler driven A New Place 2 Drown (released as Archy Marshall); and 2017’s The OOZ, his 66-minute King Krule magnum opus — a record that elevated Marshall to new levels of acclaim and popularity.
Man Alive!, in contrast to The OOZ, is a much slimmer record — both in actual length and in overall concept. But don’t let that fool you: what Marshall is trying to convey across the album’s 14 stellar tracks is just as deep, lonely, and isolated as his previous works, maybe even more so. On “Cellular,” the album’s opener, Marshall takes in multiple forms of media in attempt distract himself from dwelling on a failed relationship, but everything seems to remind him of his ex, and so he calls her. Lyrically, whatever Marshall is attempting to convey on “Supermaché” is a bit too cryptic to decipher, but the raw emotion in his voice when he shouts “we have to rise above,” is enough to sell the song.
On the album’s first major highlight, “Stoned Again,” he contemplates his own innocence while reflecting upon recent (and frequent) visits the park he used to take his puppy to as a kid — knowing damn well that, as an adult, he’s only going there to get high. “Stoned Again” – with its killer overdriven bass part, compressed drums, and absolutely tormented vocal growls — is an instant classic in Marshall’s songbook. On “Comet Face,” — the final punk sounding track on the record — we find Marshall interpolating Lowell Fulson’s “Tramp” instrumental and seemingly singing about the negative effects of heavy drug use.
And then, a cool down. On the perfectly placed interlude, “The Dream,” we hear Marshall sing sweetly over a clean, almost hypnotic guitar part. It’s this type of performance that made people fall in love with Marshall in the first place, and it’s presence on Man Alive! is much appreciated.
Rather than return to the chaotic elements of the first four tracks, the remaining songs work off of the moodier precedent set by “The Dream.” A sample of Nilüfer Yanya’s “Small Crimes” connects sibling tracks “Airport Antenatal Airport,” and “(Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On” — the latter containing a lyrical callback to “Bathed in Grey,” the closing track on 6FBTM. “Theme for the Cross” borders on ambient music, while “Underclass,” and “Energy Fleets,” in their mellow nature, are among Marshall’s best work to date.
Some people will tell you that having a kid changed their life; making personal decisions that could greatly affect someone else who can’t physically provide for themselves. Marshall just recently became a father to a newborn daughter, which is precisely the reason why a song like “Stoned Again” hits as hard as it does. He knows he needs to change his life; he knows his bad habits will continue to haunt him if he doesn’t. It’s that tension of being able to differentiate between right and wrong, but ultimately succumbing to one’s faults, that makes Man Alive! a masterpiece in songwriting and album sequencing.
