This was termed the "accompanying soundtrack" to a collaborative book from
Archy "King Krule" Marshall
and his brother
Jack
-- an assemblage of their art, poetry, and photography. In an odd way, that unfairly downplays the weight of
Archy
's first album since
6 Feet Beneath the Moon
. In contrast to that widely praised 2013 release,
A New Place 2 Drown
consists mostly of lurching, bleary beats that aren't too far from "Neptune Estate" and "Will I Come" in makeup. Additionally, it places
's voice deeper into the mix, and there are only fleeting instances of aggression in the singer's delivery. Instead, his voice is more fluid, rarely evoking anything more active than stoned lazing. At times, it's soothing -- blissed-out, even -- especially when he casually and cleverly brags, "Her love's unlimited, she lays there playing
Barry White
." Still, there's plenty of shrugged-off dejection and South London hip-hop blues to go around. It's related with some of the era's sharpest songwriting. ~ Andy Kellman