SUNDARA KARMA + CRYSTAL TIDES + BUG EYED – CHALK, BRIGHTON 10.12.23
It has been quite a while since Reading rockers Sundara Karma rocked on up in Brighton, in fact we suspect that it might even be as long as 7 years since lead vocalist/guitarist Oscar Pollock, lead guitarist Ally Baty, bassist Dom Cordell and drummer Haydn Evans graced us with their presence.
The lads got the band together a dozen years ago when they were still at secondary school. A decade ago they uploaded some tunes to Soundcloud and grabbed some support slots, one of which being at The Haunt in Brighton on 12th September 2013. The following year they dropped their first singles ‘Cold Heaven’ and ‘Indigo Puff’ and supported these by playing The Hope & Ruin in the January and were back again in May for The Great Escape new music festival. They returned to the festival in 2015 and came back to Brighton in October 2015 when they played Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar (RIP). Momentum was building and more Brighton gigs followed in 2016, with sets at Patterns on 27th February and a return to The Haunt on 29th September. Aside from their Brighton concerts Sundaram Karma have toured extensively over the past 10 years and have appeared at major festivals around the world such as Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, SXSW in America and Summer Sonic in Japan, as well as embarking on several headline UK and EU tours, winning over fans across the globe.
2017 was a milestone year for the quartet as they dropped their debut album ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ and it hit No.24 in the Official Album Charts. ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’ became their second album and that charted at No.28 in 2019. After 2 EP’s and 7 singles, Sundara Karma (which is derived from Sanskrit words, meaning “Beautiful Karma”), released their third long player in the form of ‘Better Luck Next Time’ on 27th October 2023. It came out on various formats and included splatter vinyl and Red velvet vinyl editions. Check them out HERE. The album was recorded with producer Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Courteeners, The Wombats), and is a collection of nine songs which explode with the exuberant indie effervescence that informed the sound of the band’s debut album. On the back of the album’s release they announced an extensive 18-date UK tour for November and December including appearances in Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, London and a date at Chalk here in Brighton, which is a venue they might slightly recognise as it is the new and improved version of The Haunt. We took the opportunity to send along photographer Petra Eujane to grab some decent shots of all the action! This was actually Petra’s first time shooting at Chalk and she was really looking forward to capturing the energy of this popular venue.
Petra observed that there was a sense of excited anticipation even before Sundara Karma had arrived on stage, with several people coming to the front to check out the setlist. The venue had really filled up by the time they appeared on stage and this evening’s show was a sell-out. The whole room was jumping and the band were giving a high energy performance throughout the entirety of their set. The crowd were really happy to have Oscar jump down off the stage and sing – this did cause some delay, and humour, in having the mic returned to him. It’s fair to say that Sundara Karma certainly connects strongly with their audience, especially with Oscar encouraging the singing along and giving high fives, even to Petra’s camera lens!
Sundara Karma performed a 20 song set and nine of these were all of the tunes found on the new ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album. There was a trio of tracks from its predecessor ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’ from back in 2019 and five tunes culled from their ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ debut album. The remaining trio of tunes were from two singles and an EP.
Sundara Karma:
Oscar Pollock – vocals/guitar
Ally Baty – lead guitar
Dom Cordell – bass
Haydn Evans – drums
Sundara Karma setlist:
‘She Said’ (from 2017 ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ album)
‘Baby Blue’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Miss Again’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Illusions’ (from 2019 ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’ album)
‘Pain + Pleasure’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Friends Of Mine’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘A Young Understanding’ (from 2017 ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ album)
‘Loveblood’ (from 2017 ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ album)
‘Olympia’ (from 2017 ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ album)
‘Wishing Well’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Kill Me’ (from 2020 ‘Kill Me’ EP)
‘Greenhands’ (from 2019 ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’ album)
‘Indigo Puff’ (from 2014 ‘Indigo Puff’ single)
‘Explore’ (from 2017 ‘Explore’ single)
‘Violence To The Spirit’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘One Last Night On This Earth’ (from 2019 ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’ album)
‘Sounds Good To Me’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Okay I’m Lonely’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Better Luck Next Time’ (from 2023 ‘Better Luck Next Time’ album)
‘Flame’ (from 2017 ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ album)
Sundara Karma had two support bands for their Chalk concert, these being Crystal Tides and Bug Eyed.
Crystal Tides hail from Portsmouth and their personnel are Billy Gregory (vocals/guitar), Harry Knowles (lead guitar/bv’s), Joe Knight (drums) and George Regan (bass/bv’s). They have latched onto the sound of the music that they were listening to when they were growing up, which includes bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Foals, Stereophonics and The Wombats. They have taken that all on board and have come up with their own blend of commercial toe tapping indie pop/rock sound, which has definite chart possibilities.
For their Chalk gig Petra said that Crystal Tides were instantly owning the stage with their wonderfully animated half dozen song performance, especially bassist George and guitarist Harry. Frontman Billy connected with the audience throughout and the interactions on stage between the band members added to the communal vibe of the evening.
Crystal Tides setlist:
‘Animated’ (from 2023 ‘Animated’ single)
‘Just Friends’ (from 2023 ‘Just Friends’ single)
‘Courtney Love’ (from 2021 ‘Eat Your Words’ EP)
‘Detonate’ (from 2023 ‘Detonate’ single)
‘Headcase’ (from 2021 ‘Eat Your Words’ EP)
‘Honey’ (from 2022 ‘Side Effect‘ EP)
Petra arrived early in order to catch all of the band’s playing on the bill and on her arrival the room was already buzzing as Bug Eyed played to an enthusiastic room. It was a short but hugely energetic performance from this four piece and they clearly enjoyed the crowd’s responsive energy.
Bug Eyed setlist:
‘Hold My Hand’
‘Both Renegades’
‘Itching’
‘A-Rated Horror Movies’
‘UFO Backroads’
‘Snug As A Bug’
‘Back Seats’
‘Cosmic Eyes’
