- The downtrodden drumbeats, the aggressive monotonous, quintessentially British delivery and sparse musical arrangements - all capturing the fury of youth for a recently 19, Archy Marshall, more commonly known by his infamous monikers Zoo Kid and King Krule. On his debut King Krule full length, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, Archy captures the tragic transparency of being a teenager in London, getting ripped off by Tesco, smoking cigarettes at the tube station and trying to believe in yourself when those surrounding you have already grown up and are filled with doubt. It’s hard to believe that Archy is only 19 years of age when the song writing prowess on this kind of album is reminiscent of punk royalty Joe Strummer in his late, solo career.

Bursts of naïve hope exist on Easy Easy, a song that exists without the aide of percussion but is full and anthemic all the same, reaching for solace in a Churchill quote “If you’re going through hell just keep going.” Times might not be as tough as they were when Churchill was in power but this collection of songs on 6 Feet Beneath The Moon epitomise the despair of being young and in the UK at present time with zero job prospects and too much spare time for angsty introspection.

For fans of Archy’s older work under his former alias Zoo Kid, there are freshly recorded versions of Archy classics Ocean Bed and the song that saw him buzzing all over the internet Out Getting Ribs. This time the songs are given a makeover slight enough to give a more unplugged, acoustic feeling. Perhaps not as inspiring as his initial recordings but his cut-like-glass vocals remain as heart wrenching as they were when he first released the tracks at 17 years old.

On a few tracks King Krule drops his signature reverb heavy guitar lines for sparse piano and electric drum arrangements and we see this pay off in a big way on Bathed In Grey and Neptune Estate to name just two. Nick Cave comes to mind.

Where Archy awkwardly stumbles off rhythm it’s intentional, all adding to the notion that this album was an outlet for him to wallow in self pity, weighing up his options for the future – a bleak life moseying the streets with the dregs and chavs of London or something beyond that’s much brighter. For now he’s happy exactly where he is, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, relegated to the darkness of despair. I’m happy to suffer alongside him if it means another offering as picturesque as this.

- Lizzie Irwin.