King Krule is advancing psychedelic rock. In his latest album “Man Alive!” he creates an enchanting, dreamy masterpiece. The artist, otherwise known as Archy Marshall, is going through a massive life transition. He is having a baby and moving away from his home in London. For Marshall, not all change is bad and some nerves really can be good.
Marshall effectively splits the album in two. While not literally split in two, the first seven tracks are hectic with themes of fearing outside influences and losing loved ones. The second part of the album demonstrates a more relaxed side of the artist. The difference displays how malleable Marshall can be artistically. Creating fictional separators with the dissonance in the intros demonstrates Marshall’s ability to make mayhem easy to listen to.
“Cellular,” the opening track, begins with a frenetic sound that is discordant to the rest of the first half. With an array of twinkly synths and simple guitar strumming, it replicates the sound of driving through a tunnel. Marshall sets a scene in his deep calming voice, showing us how chaotic the world is as he looks at news coming across different mediums. “I read the paper, or just the photos / I rip one out with my hand / There’s a massacre” Toward the end of the song, he repeatedly sings, “I phone my ex,” and calls for familiarity. Turmoil can cause a call to something more comfortable, and this is what Marshall is asking for.
On “Stoned Again,” an eerie fog of creeping guitars and saxophone roll in to give the track a dark mood. Marshall sings and shouts about his feelings about smoking weed. Throughout the song, a repetitive guitar riffs around muffled sax. It’s confusing — and possibly metaphorical of an idea that fades before you can grasp it, as is typical when smoking.
The biggest distinguisher between the halves of the album are the intros. The beginning begins with dissonance, while later songs like “Slinky” and “Themes for the Cross,” draw the listener in with mellow synths and steady drum beats. What we hear from “Slinky” is a somewhat spoken word poem over a melancholy guitar. There is anguish and fear in Marshall’s voice with a saxophone at the end of the track as a cry for help. “Themes for the Cross,” shares similarities of harmonic synths, echoing in the vocals and relaxing piano to emphasize a gentle sound.
The album’s twist comes at the end with “Please Complete Thee.” Marshall’s deep voice is usually filled with warm confidence. Here, Marshall sings at a higher pitch that almost begs for support. The supplication from Marshall is over a cold deep organ with what sounds like a crackling radio in the background. While we usually get vulnerability with Marshall’s lyrics, hearing him sing at this pitch adds another level of exposure. The chaotic music break adds to the thematic fear and vulnerability.
In “Man Alive!” Marshall accomplishes a dark and grimy sound from the get-go while adding dissonance that creates intrigue. The vulnerability shown creates intrigue for listeners. The psychedelic synths throughout the album create a calming space no matter the subject of the lyrics. With Marshall at the forefront, psychedelic rock music will continue to grow.