London’s King Krule is the relatively new alias of 19 yo wunderkind Archy Marshall.
Formerly known as Zoo Kid, Marshall has crafted what is in my humble opinion the best album of the year.
“6 Feet Beneath the Moon” excellently splits the difference between Billy Bragg‘s growly slice of life, The xx‘s lovelorn wail and James Chance and the Contortion‘s skronky no wave jazz punk…with a bit of hip hop wordplay and angry young man bravado.
Collecting a handful of previous singles and mature new work, the album is an unequivocal expression of romantic teen angst and existential cool that has more in common with Rimbaud’s poetry than any pop reference. Buoyed by Marshall’s unbelievable voice over minimal exquisitely cool post-punk musicianship, 6 Feet… has a soulfulness that feels timeless while being utterly urgent and flies in the face of the disposability of modern pop music.
Although sonically it couldn’t be further from the reference, it reminds me of the unique foreignness and raw power of Tricky’s “Maxinquaye”.
A completely singular, naked, and perfectly true debut by a voice that will still be relevant decades from now.
The first single off the late August True Panther/XL release, “Easy, Easy” is an excellent point of entry to this great new Artist with a capital A that we’ll be hearing from from some time to come.