Named after the Elvis Presley film King Creole, King Krule is a solo projec… Read Full Bio ↴Named after the Elvis Presley film King Creole, King Krule is a solo project of Archy Marshall (born 24 August 1994), a London-based artist who has been compared to Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg. The singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist raised eyebrows with the 2010 single "Out Getting Ribs," released under the alias Zoo Kid, which showcased his distinctively raw voice. Anticipation for Marshall's first album grew as the song earned him a spot on various high-profile "artists to watch" lists, as well as a nomination in BBC's Sound of 2013 poll.

In 2013, while still a teenager, Marshall released the first King Krule album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, on XL in the U.K. and True Panther in the U.S. Marshall then collaborated with his brother Jack for the relatively fluid, more electronic A New Place 2 Drown. Released in 2015 and credited to Archy Marshall, its physical edition was packaged with a 208-page book of poetry, photography, and art. King Krule fully reactivated in 2017 with a handful of varied singles -- the dreamlike ballad "Czech One," the mid-tempo rocker "Dum Surfer," and the rumbling "Half Man Half Shark," all featuring saxophone from Ignacio Salvadores -- that led up to The Ooz, an hour-long follow-up written during a three-year period.

Bleak Bake
King Krule Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wouldn’t wake up this morning
Believe me
This might be your only warning
And you’ll see
Why the rules won’t slide
Foreseeing something bright
But darker and darker they get
As my clothes won’t sweat

And start to weep
Through eyes we sleep

And everything hits you in the end
And spoils your thought stream
My heart got a hold of my head
And ripped it to its seams
My confessions seem well bled
But resolutions are only dreams
And I’m covered in blood
On the bed
And it’s fairly obscene

Cause I’m pretty sure my mind ran down this line again
Only last week

Overall Meaning

In King Krule's song Bleak Bake, the lyrics paint a picture of a person in a state of unease, unwilling or unable to wake up and face the day. The repetition of "you'll see" suggests a foreboding sense of inevitability, as if warning of some grave consequence if one fails to act. The line "why the rules won't slide" hints at a subversion of societal norms or personal expectations, and the darkness that follows is described with imagery of one's clothes not sweating and weeping, suggesting a sense of despair and exhaustion. The final line, "through eyes we sleep," adds a surreal, dreamlike quality to the scene, as if the singer is trapped in a state of inaction, observing their own life from afar.

The subsequent verses continue this sense of surreal unease, with the singer confessing to some wrongdoing or personal failing, but unable to follow through on any meaningful resolution. The image of the heart ripping the head to its seams suggests a tension between emotion and rationality, with the former overwhelming the latter. The chorus, "everything hits you in the end," suggests that this tension will eventually resolve itself, but in a way that spoils one's "thought stream." The final verse adds a gruesome twist with the singer realizing they are covered in blood, perhaps from a self-inflicted wound or some other act of violence. The line "pretty sure my mind ran down this line again/only last week" suggests a cycle of self-destructive behavior that the singer is unable to break.

Line by Line Meaning

Wouldn’t wake up this morning
I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed this morning

Believe me
Trust me, this is important

This might be your only warning
Pay attention because this is your chance to avoid something bad

And you’ll see
Eventually, you'll understand why this matters

Why the rules won’t slide
The consequences of breaking the rules will not be ignored

Foreseeing something bright
I had hoped for a positive outcome

But darker and darker they get
Things have taken a turn for the worse

As my clothes won’t sweat
My anxiety has caused me to stop sweating

And start to weep
I am crying instead

Through eyes we sleep
Even when we're asleep, we are overwhelmed with emotion

And everything hits you in the end
The consequences of your actions will catch up to you eventually