Sundara Karma
-ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER-
After releasing their highly anticipated debut album, Youth Is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect, at the beginning of this year, Sundara Karma – a group of four lads from Reading – have been touring pretty much non-stop. Stopping off in the UK and USA with tons of festival dates over the summer, they’ve certainly been working hard.
Tonight sees their current 12 date UK tour come to an end with a beautifully intimate performance at the Academy. The crowd are bustling in the hallway, slowly making their way into the tiny room that hosts tonight’s guests, all the while chattering excitedly about what the evening holds.
As the boys make their way out, we see that the stage is set up with three orbs on the back screen which have light shining out from behind them in a different array of colours, creating the illusion of three stunning solar eclipses.
Standing at the back of the venue, looking on as the room half full of hyperactive teenage girls shout the lyrics to ‘Loveblood’, I begin to wonder if I am too old for this. However, with Oscar’s voice in fine tune and the other members of the band playing every note perfectly, I soon forget about the age gap between me and the rest of the audience.
With hands flying in the air and hips jigging all around the room, the Academy is turned into one big dancefloor which sees every single person getting involved.
The upbeat ‘She Said’ comes towards the end of the set, followed by ‘Deep Relief’ and ‘The Night’ which leaves everyone practically on their knees begging for more. Nearly bursting with anticipation, the young crowd buzzes excitedly waiting for the encore.
Parting ways with their single ‘Explore’, the crowd gets onto each other’s shoulders to help Oscar out in one last sing-along. Waving goodbye to screams of joy from the crowd, the boys leave the stage, leaving behind a crowd that seems incredibly satisfied.
While their songs have much more to offer than those of your average indie rock band, and their performance is musically amazing, I feel there is still room for more.
Sundara Karma are certainly interesting but seem to have only just found their feet. They are fresh and exciting, but still need a little more room to grow. Hopefully next time I see them, I will be well and truly blown away.
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I am Sylvie an 18 year old music enthusiast from the midlands - with a heart for writing and adventure. Currently I am a budding music journalist who is studying for a degree in music journalism at the University of Chester.
