Review: 6 Feet Beneath the Moon [King Krule]

6 Feet Beneath the Moon- King Krule

by: Chukuka Ebuta

For King Krule, (actually named Archy Marshall), 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is a sink or swim proposition. With the mounting chatter of backdoor pitchfork priests and blog lurkers, Marshall's major label debut (and first full-length record) was anxiously awaited. The result? Space. Cavernous space surrounding a hardened-UK youth who delves into isolation and revels in minimalism.

Beginning with “Easy, Easy”, Archy's creaky, vocal aesthetic belts through a black space of concentration and simplicity. Low-end guitar notes strum through soft swirls of reverb and mouse-like synth which bloom into bright, overdubbed-guitar choruses. The sonic order on this opening track is brisk, lean and establishes a base language for the entire record.

On “Borderline”, “Foreign 2” and “Neptune Estate” dirty, street-bristled drum beats enter the mix. The percussive force is vaguely hip-hop and soul, but never dares to bloat the general soundscapes to which they are included in. Marshall  goes to great extent to leave the excess out of his monochrome world. Even as horns and pianos make appearances in the soul-heavy work of “A Lizard State”, the distinctive use of space keeps a potentially left-field track within the stylistic fold.

Lyrically, Archy is a bit of a punk poet. Terse, and colloquially urban, Archy growls with a compelling hybrid sensibilities; somewhere between punk troublemaker and gristled outsider. With pessimistic pride Archie belts out on “Has This Hit?”
I know when I look into the sky there is no meaning,
and I'm the only one believing, that there's nothing to believe in.

Aware of his  jaded nature, other lyrical sentiments on Beneath the Moon keep within existential musings and juvenile stutters of relationships.

King Krule's first major splash a triumph. Despite the pretentious admirers he attracts, Archy's rough vocals, cynical lyrics,  and his distinct essence seems born in the dirty, weathered streets of urban Britain. An album more likely to be played in the graffiti-laden main drags of England than at the offices of The Guardian, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is album is a visceral album draped in cool and unlike anything else you'll hear this year.