17 year old Archy Marshall makes startlingly haunting music as King Krule. From his lyrics - which sound like they were written by someone with many more years under their belt - to his deep and calm delivery there is an inherent sense of tension. The instrumentation of his tunes strikes a warm contrast to the bleak landscape painted by his words. String hits play against simple 808 programming and balmy bass tones on "Bleak Bake." With "The Noose of Jah City" Marshall reaches the most complete realization of his sound. The content is still tortured and painful, but the track has a near pop quality to it. With the beautiful but brief entry of his debut EP, one hopes that King Krule gets some more material out there soon.

• black vinyl pressing
• music label: True Panther Sounds 2011

reviewed by the Voice 11/2011