Friday, February 21, 2020, King Krule (real name Archy Marshall) signed the release of his new opus Man Alive!
The return of the young prodigy
It follows his two previous albums: 6 beneath of the moon and The Ooz. We find his unique and melancholic style with grunge influences, trip-hop, blues and jazz. Man Alive! was recorded with his co-producer and former collaborator Dilip Harris, as well as saxophonist Ignacio Galgo Salvadores.
I appreciate humanity now
The 25-year-old artist begins his album with grunge and blues sounds, carrying his thick and energetic voice (Cellular, Supermarket, Stoned Again). Then as you listen, the lyrics become more refined and soft. Leaving a little more from the scheme of the tortured artist very present in his previous albums, this one is dotted with sequenced stories borrowed from political and social references. Man Alive! is therefore the result of the evolution of his life, of his experiences now more luminous and peaceful.
A new man, a living man
He describes with talent, maturity, hindsight and a form of wisdom his past experiences, his difficulties, his daily life, his hopes in the light of a turning point in his personal life. Indeed, the birth of his daughter Marina took place during the recording of the album. This one inspired him, we can see it, especially by listening to the song Airport Antenatal Airplane. We see the participation of the artist Nilüfer Yanya, whose voice has been remixed by King Krule.
Having been present in France at the We Lovre Green 2018 festival, and while waiting to find him on tour (at the Olympia on March 4), we can let ourselves be transported by his documentary Hey World, released in November 2019 filmed by his partner Charlotte Patmore, where several tracks from Man Alive!
Under a background of political and environmental references (Theme for the cross for example), this album seems less dark overall, but loses nothing (or almost) of its harshness, nor its voice. What makes the tones of his compositions so unique.
