In his first solo release in four years, Archy Marshall, better known as King Krule, blessed us with, “The Ooz”, this fall. This album is Krule’s third major release and may be one of his best productions thus far. “The Ooz” draws similarities to his earlier works – “6 Feet Beneath The Moon” and “A New Place 2 Drown” – with his gritty, grimy voice paired with a reverb, over an extremely eclectic and heady instrumental. Drawing his inspirations from indie rock, punk, jazz, hip-hop, is what makes Marshall’s sound truly one of a kind.
The British artist has been producing and making music since 2010, under the name Zoo Kid, but did not gain notoriety until he changed his name to King Krule. Krule then released his first single, “Out Getting Ribs,” in 2010, which was later released on his first album three years later, “6 Feet Beneath The Moon”. “6 Feet Beneath The Moon”, was more of a compilation of sorts, consisting of tracks from his past EPs, and various other singles he previously recorded, but it definitely did its job of getting his unique sound to the ears of the masses. This release catapulted the young musician into stardom, and even got him two performances on American late night TV; once on David Letterman in 2013, and another on Conan that same year. Since then, Krule has been touring around the world and making music, steadily dropping a new release every two years.
“The Ooz” in a whole is an outstanding collection of music. With jazz and indie influences, a splash of punk, and subtle hip-hop elements, this album is an hour and seven minutes of great music. This release has a song for every type of listener, which highlights his ability to cover all varieties and tastes.
The starting track, “Biscuit Town,” immediately sets the tone of the album; a series of songs about heartbreak and depression, and allows Krule to display his production talents and sound that sets him apart from everyone else in the music industry. As the album progresses, listeners gets glimpses of his indie and punk rock influence, most notably within the tracks “The Locomotive”, “Vidual” and “Emergency Blimp” for example. However, his jazzier tracks, such as “Lonely Blue”, “Logos”, and “Cadet Limbo” are where Krule’s talent shines. His ability to ride a jazzy instrumental, paired with his raspy, rugged voice, really does make for an extremely interesting and unique sound.
Overall, Krule graced his old, and new fans with a timeless album that encompasses all genres. “The Ooz” will go down as one of Marshall’s better releases under the moniker King Krule, and as a artist in general. Hopefully, Marshall does not fall into writer’s block once again, so he can deliver a follow-up to this already classic album.
