King Krule, Pretty V, and Jadasea form new band Aqrxvst, share EP

Archy Marshall, the cult-favorite singer-songwriter known as King Krule has shown a flurry of activity in recent weeks. Just yesterday he shared the audio of his 2019 live film Hey World! on streaming services this month, and in November he released a remix of "Painless" by fellow London-based prodigy Nilüfer Yanya. On Monday (January 2), a three-song EP by a group called Aqrxvst was quietly released on SoundCloud and YouTube. Krule is a member of the band along with rappers Pretty V and Jadasea.

The new songs could be regarded as the black sheep siblings of the tracks from half-life, Jadasea's 2019 EP produced by Marshall under his producer moniker Edgar the Beatmaker. The tracks are even looser, built around a textured sense of despondency, and improvised vocals soaked in echo, though a wave of momentum runs through the three songs. Opening track "The Sky Was in The Frame" slouches through Krule's grunge-y chords before "29" emerges through with bedroom post-punk grit set at dub's languid pace. Things close out with "Hope," a psalm of dream-pop melodies, electric drums, and confessional poetry. All three songs are best enjoyed all in one go, and despite their unceremonious release, they build anticipation for what all three artists have coming.