The King of dejection came back to Kingston on Thursday for an all-too-rare live appearance before the start of his new album cycle this year. Rescheduled all the way from December 2021, it's been a very long time coming.
Given the low-key, often soul-crushing, lo-fi nature of his music, I expected a communal sob fest. However, what we got was very different. Every song on this set had received a wild face-lift to better fit the live environment. We're talking consistent moshable jams throughout en minutes (a long set for Banquet Records shows). The songs tended to have more upbeat drums, strumming patterns and a general increase in funkiness making for a surprisingly feel-good set.
Highlights were the rarely played ‘Half Man Half Shark’, ‘Alone Omen 3’ and the classic belter that is ‘Easy Easy’. However, the crowd were also treated to a very healthy dose of new material which is sounding positively fantastic. Mr Archy Marshall continues to have one of the most deeply emotional deliveries out there and that's no different for the new tracks. As far as lyrical content we will have to wait for the official releases but with song titles like ‘Tortoise’ and ‘Soup’, I'm sure we are in for a treat.
He closed out the main set with a trip back to the debut with ‘Baby Blue’ into ‘Easy Easy’ followed by an encore of ‘Out Getting Ribs’ to finish off the 6 Feet Beneath the Moon classics triple header (sadly ‘Borderline’ and ‘Lizard State’; were both absent from the set).
Banquet Records shows are easily the best value for money you can possibly get. This show was just £12 for an hour and ten minutes of a big artist in a nice intimate venue (probably the nicest Pryzm in the country). Granted not all of the shows are this long but you just can’t argue with how much bang for your buck they provide.
This show left me massively excited for new music and a tour. With a full-length set and proper production, it's going to be a must-see. Fingers crossed we get it in 2023.