AmpedReviews.net

Karma - Dry Bar, Manchester - 10th Feb 2008

Anyone at the Dry Bar last Wednesday night may have gone home wondering why they ever went out in the first place. Unless they went out with the intention of watching a band who perform your average ‘Madchester-by-Numbers’ fare.
Initial mutterings from within the crowd were positive, as most seemed to agree that Karma are a band with a genuine talent and show all the signs of a great group in the making. But a few songs into the set I realized that I must have been listening to band members’ friends and family, as their songs soon stopped my hopes growing any higher.

Karma opened their set with a Stone Roses-esque number, which at first seemed to demonstrate that they have the ability to become more than just your average Mancunian lad’s band. A strong rhythm section formed a good backbone for the set, but at times it seemed the lead singer had trouble making himself heard. The few times he attempted to interact with the crowd, he was barely audible.
The songs that followed, followed the same pattern – catchy drum beat, rising guitar riffs and a strong emphasis on singing in a northern accent; and that’s all there was too it. Songs like ‘God of Yours’ and ‘In Search’ show some promise, but any genuine sparks of creativity are masked by attempts to sound like Oasis and The Happy Mondays.

It’s a shame, as it’s likely that if these lads stopped trying so hard to fit in with the Manchester sound, they would probably be an awful lot better. They are clearly talented, and a few songs, namely ‘Delight’, showed that they are capable of forging their own sound, but it’s probably just that they’re too nervous to do it.
Feedback from the crowd at the end of the night was very mixed, and hopefully this will be the wake up call this band need to shake off an image that doesn’t suit them, and write some original sounding material.

Review by Toni Butler-Williamson

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