King Krule
(Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On
True Panther/Matador/Remote Control
Archy Marshall drops a new (anti-)single from his forthcoming LP, Man Alive! (out February 21). A slow, smoke-infused number, you can almost hear the rattle of the ice cubes in the glass and a trail of smoke from an ashtray to the bar from a time when you could smoke inside drinking establishments.
The music is sparse, with a repeating guitar motif, lugubrious soft drums and Marshall’s husky voice, half mumbling, half trailing off at the end of each line. In contrast to today’s maximalist ethos for singles, the space inside Draag On allows melodies and thoughts to float upwards through the viscous atmosphere within the track.
Despite the slow tempo, there’s a lot to be excited about for the new album. After 2017’s The Ooz, people have taken note of Marshall’s precocity as a songwriter, sounding years beyond his early-20s demographic. Since then, he’s been hanging out with rapper Earl Sweatshirt and has recently become a father as well. The video for the single is also his directorial debut, channelling the witch-burning scene in The Seventh Seal.
Man Alive! is already one of the most anticipated releases of 2020, and (Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On is certainly a sign of good things to come for King Krule this year.
PAUL DOUGHTY
