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The Karma Effect @Newcastle Zerox, September 4 2024

One of the ‘keys’ to success where The Karma Effect is concerned is a collective desire to bring piano-led, bar room rock and soul back to the fore.

And we could barely hide our disappointment when the muddy sound during the band’s last trip to the Toon completely drowned out top tinkler Seb Emmins.

But a lot can happen in five months.

Fast forward to The Promised Land headline tour and a new venue, new songs — and even a new keyboard player — made the world of difference.

In fact, this was The Karma Effect we’ve come to know and love since first clapping eyes on the guys at 2023’s Call Of The Wild Festival (our go-to destination for discovering hot new talent).

It’s safe to say the band’s Zerox show was the best of the tour to date.

It was also the first.

But if a muggy night on the banks of the Tyne was a barometer of what’s to come then NWOCR fans the length and breadth of Britain can expect something truly special.

The Promised Land… and bags of potential

With The Promised Land, quite remarkably, now officially certified as a Top 20 UK album (thanks to another inspired Earache Records marketing campaign) it’s no wonder Henry Gotelier and co. strutted onto stage with all the confidence of bona fide rock stars.

And that swagger manifested itself in almost 90 minutes of rootsy, riotous, at times revelatory classic rock born out of the 70s but brought bang up to date.

Back catalogue rarity Slow And Easy really should become a staple of The Karma Effect’s increasingly ambitious live set.

And a determination to mix things up on this long-awaited headline trek reaped rich rewards — emboldened is empowered where the Karma Effect is concerned.

Rushonrock favourite Testify still ranks as one of the finest Southern-soaked blues rock bangers of the decade.

And new boy Jamie Bull — this was just his second gig with the band — jumped on a gloriously sharp mix to ensure all of those honey-soaked keys only served to amplify an oh-so-sweet retro-fuelled vibe.

Hearing Be My Salvation stripped down and acoustic was a truly special treat.

But The Karma Effect is a truly special band… with ambition to burn.