Live Review
Sundara Karma
Dingwalls, London
March 10 2016
Words/photos: Lydia Smedley
London shows are always going to be a bit of a big deal for any artist. No exception to this is Sundara Karma’s sell-out show at Camden’s Dingwalls, marking what is presumably one of their largest headline jaunts to date.
It only seems right to kick off with a celebration then, as the boys emerge onto the stage in total darkness and commence with their highly-praised latest single 'A Young Understanding'. Frontman Oscar Lulu could easily convince anyone he’s been doing this live performance business for years longer than outweigh the band’s history as his now-familiar, powerful notes are projected around the rammed room.
'Freshbloom' is already well-established among the die-hards here, all of whom make up a vast majority of Dingwalls' 500-capacity floor space. The foursome’s live shows are already cemented as pretty raucous affairs with the older material still causing the same eruption of cheers from the crowd as when they first set out. 'Indigo Puff' is welcomed with a similar reaction.
The new material showcased comes in the form of 'Olympia' and 'She Said', a not-too-distant step from the harnessed SK sound, but still a positive if this means the long-awaited debut is finally getting tested on the road. 'Lose The Feeling' also gets a live airing, though, admittedly the (rather strangely) excluded latest EP lead cut 'Vivienne' would have sat a bit better in the evening's 12 song set. Mind you, three minutes of Lulu flailing around the stage in a rather daring silk shirt is more than enough to make up for this omission.
It’s not hard to work out why there’s such a buzz for Sundara Karma (the sell-out status of tonight’s London show is a small giveaway): They’re young, they’re ace at what they do and can easily draw the crowds into their frantic live shows - frantic being the operative word as they close out on a go-for-it rendition of 'Loveblood'.
Whilst a vast majority of this evening's material could probably pass for the same few songs on repeat to the unknowing ear, the Reading outfit are swiftly building on their ‘one to watch’ reputation; even man of the moment, The 1975's Matt Healy, couldn't resist dropping in to catch them. And who can blame him. With a live performance as enthralling as that which Sundara Karma offer, it can't be long before they are headlining larger venues with equal success and fan fervor.
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