The Ooz

The Ooz (stylised as The OOZ) is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Archy Marshall, and his second album under the stage name King Krule. It was released on 13 October 2017 via True Panther Sounds and XL Recordings. The album incorporates elements of trip hop, R&B, punk rock, and jazz.^[2]

The OOZ
Studio album by King Krule
Released	13 October 2017 (2017-10-13)
Genre	Art rock trip hop[1] jazz-rock nu jazz post-punk dub[2]
Length	66:14
Label	True Panther XL
Producer	Dilip Harris Archy Marshall
King Krule chronology
A New Place 2 Drown (2015) The OOZ (2017) Man Alive! (2020)
Singles from The OOZ
"Czech One" Released: 23 August 2017 "Dum Surfer" Released: 14 September 2017 "Half Man Half Shark" Released: 4 October 2017

Background

"Czech One" was released in August 2017 as the first King Krule song in four years.^[3] Archy Marshall subsequently announced the release of The Ooz in September 2017, with its title and release date being first reported in The New York Times' fall preview guide.^[4][5] The album is Marshall's first studio album as King Krule since 2013's 6 Feet Beneath the Moon.^[6]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.7/10[7]
Metacritic	80/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The A.V. Club	B−[10]
Consequence of Sound	B+[11]
The Guardian	[1]
The Irish Times	[12]
NME	[13]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[2]
Q	[14]
The Times	[15]
Uncut	8/10[16]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Ooz received an average score of 80, based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews".^[8] In a review for AllMusic, Andy Kellman compared the album to its predecessor stating that "the songwriting is more refined and the sounds are more disparate, resulting in a sort of controlled chaos, a scuzzy mix of nervy neo-rockabilly projectiles, howling dirges, and noodling dive-lounge tunes."^[9] Pitchfork gave The Ooz their "Best New Music" designation, with Jayson Greene complimenting the diversity of musical styles used on the album, as well as the distinctive sounds and textures. He wrote that the album "is the richest and most immersive album the London singer-songwriter has made yet" and that it is "a masterpiece of jaundiced vision from one of the most compelling artists alive."^[2] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian was more ambivalent, acknowledging the diverse musical styles while also considering the album to be "frustrating" and "a difficult listen." Though he recommends the album, Petridis considers the album's length to be a detraction, writing, "But self-indulgence is also its biggest drawback...The Ooz lasts more than an hour and virtually every track is allowed to ramble on for longer than it needs to."^[1] It was nominated for the 2018 Mercury Prize.^[17]

Accolades

Year-end lists

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2017: Critics' Picks	45	[18]
Clash	Clash Albums of the Year 2017	8	[19]
Consequence of Sound	Top 50 Albums of 2017	31	[20]
Drowned in Sound	Favourite Albums of 2017	87	[21]
The Guardian	The Best Albums of 2017	22	[22]
The Independent	30 Best Albums of 2017	12	[23]
NME	NME's Albums of the Year 2017	16	[24]
Pitchfork	The 50 Best Albums of 2017	3	[25]
Spin	50 Best Albums of 2017	28	[26]
Vice	The 100 Best Albums of 2017	3	[27]

Decade-end lists

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Treble	Top 150 Albums of the 2010s	70	[28]
Pitchfork	The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s	60	[29]
Gorilla vs. Bear	Albums of the Decade	47	[30]

Track listing

All music is composed by Archy Marshall. All words by Marshall, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Biscuit Town"		3:42
2.	"The Locomotive"		2:51
3.	"Dum Surfer"		4:23
4.	"Slush Puppy"	Marshall Kaya Wilkins	2:42
5.	"Bermondsey Bosom (Left)"		1:14
6.	"Logos"		3:50
7.	"Sublunary"		2:10
8.	"Lonely Blue"		4:44
9.	"Cadet Limbo"		4:52
10.	"Emergency Blimp"		2:54
11.	"Czech One"		4:15
12.	"A Slide In (New Drugs)"		3:05
13.	"Vidual"		2:19
14.	"Bermondsey Bosom (Right)"		1:05
15.	"Half Man Half Shark"		5:02
16.	"The Cadet Leaps"		4:21
17.	"The Ooz"		4:35
18.	"Midnight 01 (Deep Sea Diver)"		3:53
19.	"La Lune"		4:17
Total length:			66:14

Notes

• "Midnight 01 (Deep Sea Diver)" contains a sample from "Temptation Sensation", written by Heinz Kiessling.

Personnel

Musicians

• King Krule – vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keys, vocoder
• Dilip Harris – triangle, percussion, vibraphone, synth, marimba
• James Wilson – bass, vocals (track 3)
• George Bass – drums
• Ignacio Salvadores – saxophone
• Jack Towell – guitar
• Andy Ramsay – drum programming, percussion
• Marc Pell – bongos, tambourine
• Nana Giobbi – piano
• Okay Kaya – additional vocals (track 4)
• Beatriz Ortiz Mendes – spoken word (track 5)
• Idris Vicuña – spoken word (track 16)
• Maya Coline – backing vocals (tracks 11, 17)
• Ella Rimmer – backing vocals (track 11)
• Adam Marshall – spoken word (track 14), backing vocals (track 15)
• Maria Dmetriev – spoken word (track 18)

Production

• Dilip Harris – co-production, mixing, engineering
• Archy Marshall – co-production, engineering
• Andy Ramsay – engineering
• Senor El Funkelinos – engineering
• Connor Atanda – engineering
• Barry Grint – mastering

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[31]	51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32]	63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33]	81
French Albums (SNEP)[34]	95
Irish Albums (IRMA)[35]	60
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[36]	2
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[37]	45
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38]	68
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39]	58
UK Albums (OCC)[40]	23
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[41]	4
US Billboard 200[42]	114
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[43]	13
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[44]	14
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[45]	18