Album Review: King Krule, Space Heavy

A decade on from his debut album, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, 28-year-old Archy Marshall is now something of a music industry veteran. And there is an argument this fourth album is the singer-songwriter’s most accessible work yet.

Gone are most of the grimy, oppressive beats of 2020’s Man Alive, replaced by gently strummed electric guitars, dreamy soundscapes and tenderly sung vocals. Our first taster, lead single ‘Seaforth’ was a clue, replete with quiet guitar and hypnotic melody. Album opener ‘Flimsier’ is positively tender, sounding not unlike Damon Albarn in his more lo-fi moments.

Just in case you thought he’d totally lost his edge, however, along comes the two-minute cacophony of ‘Pink Shell’, filled with bruising bass, blustery guitar and snarled vocal, with Archy raging that, “I’ve spent many moons spilling my guts to many fools.”

He hasn’t lost his experimental edge either, from the wilfully atonal title track to the nervy polyrhythms and jazzy chord sequences of ‘Hamburgerphobia’. ‘Seagirl’ features female singer, Raveena, on lead vocals, while the wonderful ‘Our Vacuum’ veers from sad to strident and back again in three minutes and 22 seconds. Affecting but uneasy listening.

Listen: ‘Our Vacuum’
Score: 7

Out now via XL Recordings.

Read more album reviews in the new issue of Hot Press, out now.