King Krule @ SWG3, Glasgow, 15 Dec

Almost every word shouted is screamed right back at King Krule tonight from a young and excitable crowd

Live Review by Lewis Wade | 20 Dec 2017

Nigerian-born, London-based Obongjayar cuts a striking figure in the underground SWG3 TV Studio. Hemmed in by his band, he dips and gyrates, working his way through a set that manages to evoke Death Grips one minute and Stevie Wonder the next, mixing soul, rap and ambient textures with apparent ease. It's a loose, hazy way to perfectly set the stage for King Krule.

The band amble onstage with typical nonchalance and start off with a low-key Has This Hit? and the baying mob can barely contain their excitement; the young crowd start moshing and bouncing immediately, despite the reasonably subdued first couple of songs. However, about ten minutes in when Dum Surfer arrives, all semblance of order is lost and everyone goes bananas. Archy Marshall is on good form, moving sharply onstage, snarling and biting off lyrics as the band try to keep up the manic energy pulsing through the venue.

The rapture is given maybe three seconds to subside when the song is over, before Marshall announces that the next song is “about reptiles,” indicating A Lizard State (though it could've been The Krockadile, right?). More mania ensues, with a healthy dose of jazz-fusion getting mixed in with the rollicking post-punk. It's all, frankly, a little much, and the rest of the set proceeds from this point fairly straightforwardly, with intermittent highs but generally solid.

Baby Blue revives the crowd before Easy Easy closes the main set, propelling the now sweat and beer-drenched audience back into overdrive, with every word shouted and screamed right back at the band (as they have been for much of the night). The brief encore feels like a tacked-on cooler after Easy Easy's propulsive heights, letting everyone catch their breath before having to squeeze through the throngs of people into the freezing night outside. 

http://kingkrule.co.uk/