There are moments on The OOZ which feel cold and have a whiff of stale cigarettes. King Krule manages to capture a sense of disillusionment that seems to be very ingrained in our generation. To say the man’s a genius is an overstretch, but he taps into something very real at the core of what a lot of people think and feel. It’s an empathetic listen, it’s something that’s understanding. It’s an album that feels dark and murky but it doesn’t bog you down, The OOZ extends a hand out to you in a city in decay.

The OOZ has its influences planted firmly in jazz and hip-hop but doesn’t keep itself genre specific. It’s not written as an ‘X’ album, it stretches and explores its own influences and creates something far more interesting than anything that could be easily pigeonholed. The album is a long one too, at 19 tracks and 70 minutes you worry that the album won’t sustain itself over this length. However, it does and it keeps itself going with new ideas and themes throughout. There’s a pause that stands out just before ‘Emergency Blimp’ which is where I imagine the double LP will be split, as it marks a clearly defined second half.

Despite all the bleak themes and sounds in the album, it can actually be quite relaxing and warm at times. I find myself just wanting to close my eyes and drift off to ‘The Cadet Leaps’. It still sounds moody and dreary but it also sounds passive. It sounds like reaching a point of accepting and acknowledging but, ultimately, getting on and working with these points of pain. The result is something very therapeutic and a thoroughly enjoyable listen. For an album that’s 19 tracks long there isn’t anything that doesn’t add something new or evoke something different in the listener. I wouldn’t call it flawless… but I’m tempted.

Archy Marshall crafts a space for his vocals to thrive in. His voice can irk slightly but in the landscape created on The OOZ you couldn’t imagine any other voice taking you through. His vocals are very well enunciated and his throat sounds like it’s walled with brass lining. He creates so much atmosphere with the sparsest recordings. ‘Lonely Blue’ is a good example of this, it’s the touches on the guitar and a soft howl on the vocals that put full stops by the open spaces. It’s the way he’s able to build tension, it’s brewed in a way that feels very genuine and very heartfelt. Further into the album you feel as though you’re peeling away another layer of skin.

The OOZ is essential listening for 2017. It’s an album that harbours a lot of emotions and isn’t afraid of laying them bare. It’s an album that can sound sore, aggressive, relaxed and beautiful. Its full of rich musicality but without making the mistake of being crowded, Archy Marshall knows the value of blank spaces and uses them to full effect. It applies pressure in all the right places, relaxing you and, at times, wrapping you up in it. There’s something brilliant captured in The OOZ it’s an album you won’t be able to overlook.

Chris Middleton

Website: kingkrule.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/King-Krule