Rapid Fire Reviews: Indie Darlings with King Krule, Sigur Ros, and Swans

This is my attempt to cover some projects that get RAVE reviews from critics and are beloved by indie fans. While I like all three of them I've never been nearly as crazy about their work as fans.

Space Heavy - King Krule

Archy Marshall's King Krule project is one that I've enjoyed in flashes. There were moments across the projects first EP and following two albums that I thought were uniquely dense despite their minimal sound. But it was always met with waves of uninteresting space in between. The first King Krule project I can really say I liked was the third album, 2020's Man Alive!. That's why I was looking forward to this album, at least at first. 

At the very least I'll say this album does one thing REALLY well. A handful of songs on the record have this brooding romantic sensation of watching the world burn while hand in hand with someone you love. It isn't always exactly the same sentiment but the songs that dabble in this medium are wonderful. Seaforth is the first one whose romantic lense is intoxicating. While this is far from the most sonically interesting song on the album I really like that sentiment. Even better is Tortoise Of Independency which takes a gentles approach but still feels like watching the world crash and burn around you. The most literal interpretation is on Seagirl, a duet with R&B singer Raveena that reminds me of Julia Holter's music at points. The last and maybe even best example is Our Vacuum which builds creatively with its instrumental and uses the lyrics to create driving tension.

The one big highlight on the album that doesn't follow that formula is Hamburgerphobia. Despite the silly name it's a despondent song with some lively drums and genuine intensity. On the exact opposite side of things, one of the worst things Archy does on this record is wander into vocal lanes he has no business in. Aside from the title track almost every time he replaces his muted singing with ugly yelps and howls it takes me out of any song. Pink Shell and Empty Stomach Space Cadet are the worst examples but it happens more times. Something about him trying to step into a Frank Zappa/Tom Waits role just never clicks with me. This album isn't bad, and it certainly isn't the worst King Krule album ever but it does feel like a step back from his previous outing. Gone is some of the truly paralyzing darkness he tapped into on Man Alive! and while part of it is replaced with crushing romance, other parts see him returning to motifs of The Ooz that I really didn't like in the first place. Unfortunately, after a brief break from the formula, I'm back to not liking King Krule nearly as much as the general consensus of indie fans. 6/10

ATTA - Sigur Ros

Sigur Ros are a legendary Icelandic post-rock band whose ability to convey sheer beauty is honestly second to none. Their trio of albums from 1999 to 2005 encompassing Agaetis byrjun, (), and Takk are all impressively distinct and majestic. My issue with the band is that since then there hasn't really ben much that excited me. I used to say their last album, 2013's Kveikur was at least a bit of a bright spot but upon a recent relisten I did for my 2010's retrospective project I found even that didn't hold up like I wanted it to. Regardless, I was excited to give this project a try because they're still one of the most critically respected names in all of music. I was even more excited once I heard that this album is an embrace of the perhaps contradictory orchestrated minimalism. It makes use of an impressive roster of musicians but the sonic results are often quiet, patient, and occasionally just straight-up ambient. While that does rob the band of some of their grandest crescendos, I think at this stage in their career it was a songwriting choice that makes sense. 

The appeal of the record is pretty consistent throughout. The restraint required to have all of this instrumentation on hand and still never push it beyond the comfortable, poised ambiance is impressive. Some of the record's lowest moments sonically are some of the most satisfying. Klettur reminds me of some of my favorite pseud-ambient pieces from various times Animal Collective has experimented with the genre. Fall is the most purely somber moment the record delivers but that comes with no less beauty than any other song here. Other tracks take a bit more of an obvious cinematic approach. Andra is the best example, a song that manages to repeatedly hit soaring high points despite being one of the album's shortest. Another song that feels like a relative speedrun is Skel. I appreciate the way it builds quickly to what feels like a dramatic conclusion but chooses not to actually end the song there. The opportunity to exhale afterward was always greatly appreciated. The album's obvious standout song Blooberg clicked with me right away. It has a really compelling push and pull with the shift between gentle orchestrated moments of dense sound and the quiet in-between. 

Unfortunately, when these compositions fail to evolve in meaningful ways the album never really offers anything up in their place. The nearly 10-minute closer 8 does have compelling individual moments but much of the songs second half feels like exceedingly unnecessary malaise. I can also say that between the one-two punch of Gold and Ylur there isn't a whole ton that I find all that compelling. This album is good and I mostly enjoy it. In fact, I might even go as far as to say it's my favorite thing they've done in almost 20 years, it's at least a close call. But it still falls far short of the group's most transcendental work. Even though I find the concept pretty appealing, it's ultimately just a slightly mixed bag. 6.5/10

The Beggar - Swans

I did not like the last Swans album. That was a flip from the norm but not by as much as most people. I had reluctantly enjoyed bits and pieces of the band's enormous out-put since their return in 2010. With the exception of 2012's expansive and epic The Seer, I wasn't as high on any of the group's other projects, particularly The Glowing Man, as their fans were. That always felt like a shame because there are a handful of classic Swans albums like expansive classics Soundtracks For The Blind and The Great Annihilator as well as no-wave outings like Filth that I absolutely love. So whenever they release new material, I tune in just in case that like The Seer I enjoy much of what they deliver. The critical consensus surrounding The Beggar has certainly been higher than the band's last project. After a first listen that was predominately focused on sound and style I broke down the lyrical content which is actually more interesting than usual. Much speculation has swirled about if this will be the last Swans project and once you hear songs like Michael Is Done, it's easy to see why. Despite the album's gargantuan and far too indulgent runtime and what I would require is a bit too much insistence on caring about the "lore" of Swans, I think I like The Beggar more than the band's previous two outings.

Opening track Parasite is decisively eerie. It's the most classic post-punk I've heard the band sounding in a long time. I also thought Paradise Is Mine was one of the band's better singles in a while and its eerie vibes team up with the opener to start the record off well. Generally speaking, the entire opening crawl of the record is quite solid. But as I sort of anticipated the longer it goes on the more it starts to lose the thread. Surprisingly, that doesn't have much to do with the much-talked-about 40-minute epic The Beggar Lover. The song actually represents a sort of highlight for the record with many moments of eeriness that you don't often get from the band's bluntness. It's actually surrounding songs like Ebbing and the title track that let down the momentum of the record. I wouldn't call The Beggar EXCEEDINGLY indulgent in the way Swans can be at their most intolerable. I actually like some of the record's most stripped-down moments whose more expansive space and atmosphere let this shrill darkness creep throughout the entire album. In fact, I like the sonic aesthetic of this album quite a bit. It's probably my favorite-sounding Swans record since To Be Kind. But I would be lying if I said the record didn't suffer from its bulk just like many of the band's prior releases. Swans fans are already devouring this so let me speak to the Swans skeptics. This record isn't a solution to some of the band's consistent shortcomings, but it does have a LOT of really solid material on it supplementing its flaws. Moreso than either of the group's last two projects I think the highs are worth some of the meandering lows even I genuinely think cutting a quarter of the album out could have improved it a lot. 7/10