Before there was ÔÇÿThe OOZÔÇÖ, Archy Marshall laid down his foray into multiple genres and creative explorations within his various artistic pseudonyms. These have ranged from the jazzy hip-hop experiments with his monikers DJ JD Sports and Edgar the Beatmaker, to the subdued and dark post-dubstep of his project ÔÇÿA New Place 2 DrownÔÇÖ, released under his real name. However, none of these projects have resonated quite as well as that of King Krule. The first album, under this alias, was 2013ÔÇÖs ÔÇÿ6 Feet Beneath the MoonÔÇÖ. At just 18 years old, Archy had created a sonic landscape that contained within it a cold,urban atmosphere. His long-awaited follow-up, ÔÇÿThe OOZÔÇÖ delves even deeper into his mind, and brings back with it, and even more comprehensive blending of genres.

ItÔÇÖs been four years since his first album, but even so, Archy is still young, and still surprises listeners. ÔÇÿThe OOZÔÇÖ demonstrates an even greater experimentation with jazz than ÔÇÿ6 Feet Beneath the MoonÔÇÖ, and does so while introducing elements of punk also. Nowhere is this more evident than on songs like ÔÇÿDum SurferÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿHalf Man Half SharkÔÇÖ. Both of which are built upon a driving post-punk groove, which become decorated by scattered saxophone wails.

ÔÇÿThe OOZÔÇÖ is a long album. Clocking it at just over an hour, it could, and has, been accused of a level of self-indulgence. But the richness of the sounds, that leap between post-punk energy, and the soft, almost lounge music evoking, sounds of the deep jazz cuts like ÔÇÿLogosÔÇÖ, make for an immersive experience. ItÔÇÖs length also allows Archy to really experiment with the range in sounds found on the album. As immersive as it is, there is a quality of dissonance and absence that helps paint an image of ArchyÔÇÖs mental state during the making of the album. On ÔÇÿSublunaryÔÇÖ, he sings ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm not hereÔÇØ through a distorted microphone. He presents himself as someone who feels alienated, someone out in space. ItÔÇÖs no surprise then that you see songs with titles like ÔÇ£Emergency BlimpÔÇØ and ÔÇ£Midnight 01 (Deep Sea Diver)ÔÇØ on the album. Archy is concerned with the withdrawn figure, out alone in the infinite emptiness of space and the unknown depths of the ocean. He even expresses a feeling being ÔÇ£lost in spaceÔÇØ on ÔÇÿCadet LimboÔÇÖ.

Archy is also undoubtedly concerned, as he has been in the past, with the colour blue. For him, as it is traditionally within art, blue is symbolic of loneliness, something obvious form the song ÔÇ£Lonely BlueÔÇØ, in which Archy discusses his loneliness and depression. The album cover is also an image of a solid sky blue, with a small plane soaring through the vastness of the sky. This seems very much representative of ArchyÔÇÖs alienation and solitude. The colour blue is also a traditional aesthetic found in the Jazz genre, from its roots in Blues music, to Miles DavisÔÇÖs Jazz staple ÔÇÿKind of BlueÔÇÖ, and so thisworks well into ArchyÔÇÖs more ambitious forays into Jazz on the album.

Ultimately, though, ÔÇÿThe OOZÔÇÖ succeeds most in its richness in sound, and immersive style. ItÔÇÖs both ArchyÔÇÖs most complex and mature album to date. There is evidence of scattered unorganised elements, with its length and range in sounds. But despite this, the listener can relish in its pure hypnotic nature, one that is engaging, both in mood and the journey it takes you on.

Josh Ellis

 

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