Rebellion without reason is futile. Reason lacking sentiment is empty. And sentiment deplete of knowledge runs the risk of being juvenile and thus, overlooked. Some of the greatest struggles we experience in life happen during our years as young adults as we try to understand the world while being hampered by parental guidance and pejorative labels. Archy Marshall, aka King Krule, is somewhat of a musically adept silver lining for pained youth worldwide. While the Londoner’s early musical development allows his music to span curfew restrictions, it’s his fresh knowledge and unique outpour that render King Krule worth a listen.
In “The Noose of Jah City,” Marshall clearly highlights a natural focus on structure and deliverance within his King Krule output. After spending much of his young life creating variations of jazz-influenced hip-hop, dub and soul, Marshall’s blend of serene instrumentals, chilling vocals and emotional undercurrents radiate a maturity much older than its creator. The single opens with Marshall spending the better half of a minute planting instrumental seeds that’ll carry his voice through its tonal woes and poetic performance. He quietly builds twinkling keyboards over dimmed, echoing guitar, making his bleak vocals feel almost unexpected when he chimes, “It eats away the brain.”
With a relaxed backdrop in place, Marshall’s voice is a major piece to his music’s abstract puzzle. The 17-year-old once described his vocals as monotonous, although their pleasantly untrained character is anything but boring. Instead, his vocals strike warm contrast with Krule’s instrumentation. Like the other tracks on his EP, “The Noose of Jah City” sees Marshall’s voice splashed heavy with reverb, at times low and dark, then sounding a bit cracked and strung out when his lyrics call for it.
Although it may be difficult to take such a young kid’s words seriously, Marshall doesn’t allow his age to compromise his depth as a musician.
Most of us wouldn’t dare waste our time trying to decipher Justin Bieber’s amateur lyrics, but King Krule’s acuity is intriguing and successful. Greater than mere words, Marshall’s lyrical maturity rests in the poetic nature of his verses and their underlying ideologies. Similar to the way performance propels poetic diction, Marshall’s pauses, emphases and crackling of certain words and phrases breathe life into his lyrics. In “The Noose of Jah City” Marshall confronts his own downfall and death in a calm, enduring manner when he sings, “My body found, but my soul was left to drown/Suffocated in concrete.” His maturity then, is encrypted in not only his imaginative word choice, but also the emotional fruition of those carefully selected words.
But if Marshall’s complete package isn’t enough to engage listeners, his lackluster youth is surely a benefit. The truth is, we all love to watch people grow up. There’s a sense of remembrance—flashbacks to our own youthful years. “The Noose of Jah City” reminds us of our teenaged suppression and the ways we overcame such generational hardships. It’s somewhat of a mystical trip down memory lane, the path paved in Marshall’s reverbed vocals and undisturbed approach to music.
