What happens when the old generation of rock'n'roll meets the new generation of indie? Spoiler alert: Sundara Karma is formed to make excellent music.
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Just last August, The Guardian described young Reading rockers Sundara Karma as “indie Springsteens,” and this assertion is unquestionable on ‘Olympia.’ Taken from upcoming 2017 debut album Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect, Oscar Lulu’s vocals are suitably gruff, yet they retain a smooth and powerful tone that would make The Boss proud. The guitar work from Ally Baty is wonderfully mixed and structured, with a near-constant riff singing out, meshing perfectly with the Dom Cordell’s bass work and the simplistic, yet consistently strong drumming from Haydn Evans.
The anthemic nature of ‘Olympia’ builds terrifically to its chorus so you can’t help but feel psyched up listening to the track – the live singalongs when they tour the record in February are sure to be huge. Lyrically, it’s deceptively challenging, dealing with the difficulties of confinement and the yearning to be free, akin to the aforementioned Springsteen spirit. It invokes a melancholic feeling for those of us past our teenage years but is sure to be a real in-the-moment anthem for the younger generation. I may be in my twenties, but this is drop-dead astounding stuff from Sundara Karma.
With this big hitting rock’n’roll-esque number for the new era of indie fans, Sundara Karma may just be on their way to filling the shoes of the powerhouse arena-filling bands that satiated their older siblings’ youth, whilst carving out their own identity in the process. Following ‘Olympia,’ I wouldn’t dare question them.
‘Olympia’ is out now via RCA
