King Krule: “Space Heavy” (Album Review)

Genres: Neo-Psychedelia, Slowcore, Post-Punk

        If there’s one thing King Krule is good at, it’s giving fans what they didn’t know they needed. I wouldn’t expect the evolution of his sound to go in the direction that Space Heavy does, but that’s part of Archy Marshall’s genius. He follows his nose, he lets his creativity loose and builds around that. There’s a specific atmosphere created that feels like a natural extension of Marshall as an artist. 

        Space Heavy’s sound is characterized by the jazz-punk instrumentation that is primarily visible in Marshall’s live performances. In this way, Space Heavy truly resembles a live album at times, while not sacrificing the high-quality studio recordings. I like to picture this record as the waves of an ocean, gently caressing you with its sounds of familiarity and smoothness, and also taking you by surprise with how rough it can get. There’s a lot to respect from how uncompromising and unexpectedly dense Space Heavy is. Even being somewhat more accessible than some of Marshall’s other albums, the unique King Krule charm is all over every song. Whether it’s coarse and aggressive or smooth and rhythmic, no track has a thin texture. 

        It’s hard to fully express how powerful the instrumentation on Space Heavy is. Marshall and his bandmates are at the top of their game, featuring some of the most dynamic performances I’ve heard from them. Saxophonist Ignacio Salvadores has some of his best work here, with the loose and quietly powerful horns on “Empty Stomach Space Cadet,” which slightly swell to match the grandiosity of Marshall’s vocal performance. Likewise, drummer George Bass can’t be praised enough. “Hamburgerphobia” has a harrowing sound that’s heavily made by frenzied drumming. Even the first credited feature on a King Krule track with Raveena on “Seagirl” manages to be a great product of collaboration. The ethereal vocals of Seagirl bring to mind the altered vocals of Okay Kaya from The OOZ’s “Slush Puppy”. It creates a weightless feeling, similar to the experience of floating through the water. 

        Marshall’s relationship with the guitar as an instrument comes into play here again as a clear center of the album. This element is present throughout nearly all his music, and I find it especially interesting with the specific sound of Space Heavy. He crafts this specific sound mainly through the use of different guitar pedals that give the right amount of reverb and distortion. “Our Vacuum” is a track that almost feels acoustic, almost solely featuring Marshall and his (electric) guitar,  stripped down compared to the rest of this album. What I find to be especially interesting about this is Marshall’s choice to use the same melody for “Flimsier”, “Flimsy”, and “Our Vacuum”. Because of how he spreads these songs across the tracklist, hearing the same chords serves as a reminder and a push deeper into the musical space he created. It’s interesting how so much of this album can be broken down to how Marshall works with his guitar.

        Space Heavy’s nature is reflected in its name. There is a spacious ambiance and heavy complexity, and there is heaviness in the space itself. It’s a fairly direct album, but Space Heavy is what it presents itself as as well as so much more. The focus on the thick instrumentation brings forth layers, making the listener have to actually think about what their digesting. Although I wish there was as much detail within the lyrics, they ultimately are not the crux of Space Heavy. With this slight pivot in direction, King Krule proves to be an expert in doing what he wants in an fulfilling way.

Favorites: Hamburgerphobia, Space Heavy, Seaforth, From The Swamp, When Vanishing, Empty Stomach Tortoise, Seagirl, Flimsier, If Only It Was Warmth, Flimsy, Our Vacuum, That Is My Life, That Is Yours

Least Favorites: Pink Shell

Enjoyment: High 8
Critically: High 8
Arbitrary Number: 8.9/10