The World According to Archy | ‘Hey World!’ – King Krule
December 4, 2019
Everyone’s favorite wunderkind is back.
For the first time since 2017’s The OOZ, Archy Marshall has returned with a new project. Clocking in at just under 16 minutes, Marshall’s new release is a short film titled Hey World! featuring four unheard tracks.
Since his emergence on the London scene in 2010, Marshall, commonly known by stage name King Krule, has been one the most exciting voices of the past decade. During the first half of the decade, Marshall refused to be pigeon-holed to one genre and experimented in a variety of styles including punk, trip hop, dub, jazz, electronic and indie.
6 Feet Beneath the Moon, his first release under the King Krule moniker, is most easily described as a punk rock album. However, there is a prominent jazz feel throughout the record, utilizing instruments like horns and saxophones to complement the guitar strumming.
A New Place to Drown, released under his real name and my personal favorite Marshall project, is markedly different than its predecessor. The project is more heavily influenced by genres pioneered in England like trip hop and dubstep.
Marshall’s second Krule album, The OOZ, was like a perfect marriage of his hip hop, jazz and punk influences.
The film, directed by Marshall’s partner Charlotte Patmore, show King Krule performing tracks in several desolate settings like empty fields and in front of power plants. The sparse visuals fit perfectly alongside the stripped-down production and vocals.
The most interesting track is the second one, “Alone, Omen 3.” The lyrics, delivered soberly in Marshall’s distinctive baritone, are comforting words to an undisclosed woman. “Every minute, every second, you’re not alone, you’re not alone / Sometimes you’re stretched, sometimes you’re stretched.”
Marshall’s delivery grows more emphatic as the song progresses erupting into a hoarse growl he has used on more raucous tracks. After a brief pause in the track, Marshall begins again with a more hopeful delivery, ending the song, “Don’t forget you’re not alone / And I love you, I love you, I love you.”
Earlier this year, Patmore and Marshall welcomed their first child, Marina. While it has yet to be confirmed, it’s pretty clear that this track is a love letter to Charlotte and their newborn daughter.
Marshall has not stated if the tracks in this film will receive a proper release, but either way, Hey World! absolutely fills the King Krule void I think we were all feeling.
Feature image by Charlotte Patmore; retrieved from the Hey World! YouTube video.
