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8.5
117968
8.5 |
Beats Per Minute
With true, human conflict between happiness and sadness on full display, Man Alive! is unequivocally King Krule’s, or better yet, Archy Marshall’s most sobering work yet
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8.0
117342
8.0 |
No Ripcord
The album takes hold of the most surreal, dreamlike, and dimly lit parts of your mind and refuses to ease its grip until the final seconds of closing statement Please Complete Thee, Alive!’s most delicate moment
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8.0
116000
8.0 |
Loud And Quiet
You have to lean into Man Alive! to receive its message; it won’t come to you, but what lies in wait if you do is the dark, harsh truth. King Krule is one of the few artists ready to stare it in the eye
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8.0
116001
8.0 |
The Music
dials up the cynicism and expands the space around his musings so he can speak more directly about his bleak experiences while tempering them with loping but pretty melodies
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8.0
116015
8.0 |
NME
Fresh from escaping London and becoming a father, a renewed and refreshed Archy Marshall has produced the most uplifting King Krule album yet
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8.0
116040
8.0 |
Exclaim
If previous King Krule efforts could be accused of sad-boy narcissism, Man Alive! shows that Marshall's gaze has never been entirely directed at his own navel. Despair is still there in his songwriting, but so is the capacity for change
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8.0
117038
8.0 |
Crack
Dive into Man Alive! at your own peril. Marshall wields chaos in the palm of his hand, melding together a powerful concoction of garage rock, hip-hop, jazz and all the influences that once inspired London multi-instrumentalist Tom Vek.
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8.0
117039
8.0 |
Clash
‘Man Alive!’ is an absorbing consolidation of Marshall’s inimitable sound
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8.0
117054
8.0 |
Under The Radar
It really is an excellent record and one that will speak to Marshall's fans and detractors alike
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8.0
117065
8.0 |
All Music
While nothing here has the agitated vigor of the previous LP's "Dum Surfer" or "Emergency Blimp," there are a couple oddball narrative ragers
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8.0
117127
8.0 |
Q
Marshall sounds at peace here, and back to his best. Print edition only
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8.0
117130
8.0 |
The Observer
Like its predecessors, Man Alive! was recorded at night, and it swims languorously with romance and tenderness, deftly pulling sonics from jazz, post-punk, soul and dubstep
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7.9
117022
7.9 |
Paste Magazine
Archy Marshall’s third album as King Krule would make a cubist proud
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7.7
116035
7.7 |
Pitchfork
The lanky London outlaw with cement-mixer lungs delivers his most anguished album yet, in which impending fatherhood collides with his habitual torments
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7.0
118802
7.0 |
PopMatters
Following The OOZ and its accolades, King Krule crafts a similarly hazy gem with Man Alive! that digs into his distinct aesthetic rather than forges new ground
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6.7
117145
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
A compelling portrait of an artist caught between youthful heartache and adult devotion
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6.5
117175
6.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Definitely the start of something new for King Krule as a project
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6.5
116003
6.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
There is certainly less filler here than on previous albums, but there are still points which feel a little dull or repetitious, as on "Slinky" and "Theme for the Cross"
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6.5
117019
6.5 |
Northern Transmissions
It feels less of an album of fully formed material and more like a collection of unreleased B- sides, demos and rarities
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6.0
116041
6.0 |
DIY
The work of an artist in transition
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6.0
117140
6.0 |
musicOMH
For someone as forward-thinking and experimental, playful and funny as King Krule, Man Alive! is just too dull of a work to celebrate
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6.0
117128
6.0 |
Uncut
Lush as it sometimes is, too often disappears into an indecipherable cloud of smoke. Print edition only
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6.0
117129
6.0 |
Mojo
If Man Alive! treads a post-Ooz water, it's deep enough not to matter. Print edition only
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6.0
117068
6.0 |
Evening Standard
Marshall’s last record The Ooz was criticised for being too long. Man Alive! is leaner — at 40 minutes, it’s his shortest album — but it could be trimmed further still, leaving fewer ambles and more of that sullen intensity
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4.0
117070
4.0 |
The Guardian
The south Londoner’s third album offers flashes of brilliance but is weighed down by a tone of gravelly gloom
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