An Enduring Talent: King Krule, Live in Bristol

23 November 2017, 14:49 | Written by Sam Willis

(Live)

(King Krule)

Since the release of 6 Feet Beneath The Moon in 2013, and through the depth of music attributed to his litany of aliases, Archy Marshall, the brains behind King Krule, has garnered the awe and dedication of a spellbound cult following. The recent release of the astonishing and long-awaited follow up, The OOZ, has reignited the hype as Marshall returns home to the UK.

This return to the stage has resulted in a sold-out crowd in Bristol, boiling over with yelps of joy as the minutes tick by at the prospect of seeing the bird-like frame and ginger hair of Marshall and finally hearing that macabre voice in the flesh.

Curiously for a tour on which the main function was to, presumably, promote the new record, the weighting of material from The OOZ and the 2012/2013 era which resulted in 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is surprisingly balanced. This proves a sensible move; it’s his early work which has captured the imagination of his acolytes most acutely so far.

In the first half of the show Marshall and his live band blast through “Has This Hit”, “Ceiling”, “A Lizard State” and “Rock Bottom” with a punk energy largely absent from recorded material. On stage, songs that sound considered and eerily morose as recorded material become fierce and untamed. Some of them have elements chopped and changed to allow for more zip, offering a totally new way to consume King Krule’s art.

From The OOZ, they play “Dum Surfer” "Midnight 01 (Deep Sea Diver)", “The Locomotive”, “Emergency Blimp”, “(A Slide In) New Drugs” and ‘Half Man Half Shark’ and it’s during tracks like “(A Slide In) New Drugs” and “The Locomotive” where the energy briefly subsides.

At the tail-end it’s back to some of Marshall’s earliest and lastingly popular work, with “Baby Blue”, “Easy Easy” and “Out Getting Ribs”. “Easy Easy”, in particular, inspires The Marble Factory to erupt in song and movement; clearly the highlight of the show.

Typically laconic, Marshall leaves the stage with little in the way of small talk simply saying “Wow, I should come to Bristol more often” and exiting to leave us far more spellbound than when we arrived. It’s not in the least bit unfathomable that this 23-year-old man could be someone who is spoken about for years, if not decades, to come.