Sundara Karma - Ulfilas' Alphabet (Album Review)
After their impressive take on indie rock with their thought-provoking and very millennial approach to the genre, such a drastic change in sound and themes was rather unexpected. Their debut, "Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect", was a catchy and personal record, an achievement and a staple in music in 2017. Going back into their discography provided a rather different sonic palette, with their sounds instead tinged with psychedelic and infused with love and struggle as apposed to the introspection and witty lyrics on the debut. These early songs were, at their best, beautiful endeavours into some overlooked sounds and emotional themes.
Going into their new material, I half expected them to revert back to their original style and was hoping it could be as good as "Indigo Puff" and "Prisons to Purify". With lead single "Illusions", I was immediately treated to a more experimental and slightly psychedelic direction, one that centred much more on the piano than on guitars and emphasised the potential for Sundara Karma to embrace a less constrained sound, as the band proved how masterfully they could incorporate their knack for a catchy hook and witty lyrics into social commentary and analysis. On top of this, the most profound shift besides the piano solos and melody, I found it was Oscar Pollok's voice that changed the most. His usual midrange adaptability has seen a dive into a large ranged flexibility, taking obvious inspiration from Bowie and seeing definite improvements from his vocals that suit the instrumentation and the styles that the band are going for and helps to achieve the diversity that is so fundamental to this new project.
With soaring choruses and infectious refrains, tracks like "Symbols of Joy and Eternity" and "Rainbow Body" stand out as the most vibrant in an already luscious album. In terms of disappointments, perhaps the vocal line in "Home" is definitely a stretch for me, not capturing the same mood and tone so profound and effective throughout the rest of the album. Besides this slightly lacklustre cut, all the other songs have something unique to offer, even the misstep of a dance track "Sweet Intentions" at least offers something new, despite not fully achieving what it sets out to do. The highlights though are seen throughout, from the supremely catchy "One Last Night On This Earth" to the social expertise shown on the title track, "Ulfilas' Alphabet", or the brilliance of the psychedelic melody of "Greenhands"...
The impassioned questioning on "The Changeover" is coupled by easily Oscar's best yet vocal performance and, regardless of the confusion I get with the line "affirmations my mother sent to me", it's a very relatable and modern ballad that I keep coming back to. This contrasts the explosive underground new rave sounds found on "Higher States", easily the most (successfully) dancy song on the albun and already one of my favourite of the year. There's yet more I can say about the effect that "Rainbow Body" has on me, the pummels of the drum beat perfectly rhythmically complimenting the passionate, striking synths in a combination of retro beauty and modern bliss, all encompassing a nice sentiment lyrically.
Overall, this is a mediocre album that sees Sundara Karma make an unexpected but thought out progression to higher states and more sonically and lyrically rich places. The majority of the songs here are at least enjoyable, but I don't find myself coming back to this lots. My score is an obvious and light 6 out of 10. There is definitely a case of unfortunate single fever here, as they are the standout and best tracks...
Best Songs:
One Last Night On This Earth, Symbols of Joy and Eternity, Higher States, The Changeover, Illusions, Little Smart Houses
Worst Song/s:
Sweet Intentions, Home (There Was Never Any Reason To Feel So Alone)
"Ulfilas' Alphabet"
Sundara Karma
01/03/2019
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