The Karma Effect — Cruel Intentions (Earache)
Earlier this year Rushonrock had the privilege of catching The Karma Effect up close and personal at the super cool Gibson Rooms, in the heart of central London.
An acoustic-led showcase for the homegrown heroes represented both a threat and an opportunity.
Fail to match the hype and there was the real danger that the carefully curated buzz around Cruel Intentions would die a slow death.
Seize the day and it would be all systems go in the run up to one of the most hotly anticipated album drops of the year.
Of course Henry Gottelier and co. were in no mood to blow their big chance in front of die-hard fans, expectant label paymasters and hard-to-impress industry tastemakers.
And a short but incredibly sweet set confirmed what everyone already knew: it’s a straight fight between The Karma Effect and cocksure throwbacks Jayler in the race to become the kings of this summer’s NWOCR scene.
Common to both bands are feelgood, retro-fuelled vibes bouncing off booming rhythms and Zeppelin-styled riffs.
Both acts boast charismatic frontmen in the mould of Plant, Coverdale and Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan.
And, crucially, two of the most talked about classic rock combos on the UK circuit are rooted in healthy authenticity.
Now The Karma Effect are further down the road than their juniors in Jayler.
And Cruel Intentions has stolen a march on Voices Unheard with the latter not out until the end of the month.
But Jayler are ready to make up for lost time and the boys from the Midlands have some seriously big supports coming up.
So settle down, crack open a beer and let battle commence. Right now, we just can’t pick a winner…
Cruel summer
Cruel Intentions is a cracker of a record.
Earworms everywhere, a pin sharp mix and quality control that would make Def Leppard proud makes for a must-listen long-player that more than matches punchy predecessor Promised Land.
From the first, feisty notes of funky opener Ride Or Die it feels like this is going to be something special.
Gottelier gives everything — on every track here — as if his life depends upon it. You can hear what it means to the main man.
And then there are those dreamy licks from fretmaster general Robbie Blake.
The Karma Effect’s lead guitarist has always had a happy knack for going the extra mile and on Cruel Intentions he takes us on a rock and rollercoaster ride.
Gottelier goes full-on Buchanan on one-time Rushonrock Red Hot Track Of The Week Dangerous Love — a tune with so much energy it could power Iron Maiden’s entire backline.
In February we described the Aerosmith-meets-Little Angels (check out the honky tonk horn section) track as a ‘hazard to the senses’.
Three months on and Dangerous Love’s lost none of that instant appeal.
Talking of Aerosmith, there’s more than a hint of Steven Tyler about Gottelier on Lady Bohemian but The Karma Effect pull from everything that’s addictive about 70s and 80s rock.
And aping the genre greats is no bad thing by the way… not if it sounds this good.
The Karma Effect’s intentions might be cruel but we’re going to be kind: album number three’s a real contender.
