Karma Heart - Throw Your Light

  by Peter Allison

published: 15 / 10 / 2011

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Review

North East four-piece rock-band the Karma Heart burst onto the scene a few years ago under a different moniker, as Remedy, a rock cover band. Gradually Remedy began to incorporate their own music into their gigs, until they eventually stopped playing covers altogether. Following a change of drummer, the band is back under a different name and with a new album. I first came across the band in their days as Remedy through their fantastic self-titled debut EP three years ago, and they have become even better since then. 'Throw Your Light' is the first full-length album showcasing their music. Opening with a strong guitar and drum intro, 'Fatal' explodes into action as Jenn Cherene's vocals perform an aural assault on your eardrums that takes no prisoners. The next track is 'Honest Child', whose similar sound makes for a seamless switch-over between tracks. Overall the tracks on 'Throw Your Light' have a constant solid identity throughout that can sometimes border on the formulaic, yet it is this tungsten-steel backbone to their music that makes it so identifiable. Refreshingly, their music does not conform to the three minute rule for air-play, as the Karma Heart's tracks are often a good five minutes in length. This slightly longer duration may not seem like much, but the extra time gives them an expanded textural landscape to fully explore the music: lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally. The Karma Heart are indubitably a strong band who have a genuine sense of immediacy, and you never feel short changed listening to their music. Jenn Cherere's crystal clear vocals have a broad range (with raw-edge that is fantastic when heard live), and are markedly different to many contemporary singers. Jenn is backed-up by a solid group of skilled musicians, each of whom has the time and space to shine. Supporting Jenn is Graham on lead guitar who is a talented musician in his own right, along with Lee on bass guitar and Phil The Beat on drums. Comparisons with rock band Nickleback, if they were fronted by Gwen Stefani, would be justified; for whilst the Karma Heart are not treading new ground in their music, what they are doing is performed very well. Similarities with Aerosmith would be similarly justified, especially given lead singer Jenn's habit of tying scarves to her microphone. Amusingly the album’s meta-data still identifies the band as being Remedy. This may not a big thing for a CD, but as most music is now digitally ripped for playing via MP3 players or computer, it can make track management more difficult than it needs to be. Overall 'Throw Your Light' is a strong first album by the band. It is not ground-breaking, but for what it is, is done very well. This is an album that I will be listening to again.

Track Listing:-

1 The Fated
2 Honest Child
3 Gravitate
4 Another Religion
5 The City's a Desert
6 Desire
7 The Remedy
8 Kamikazi Comraderie
9 King Karma
10 Comin' Undone
11 There's Not a Star in the Sky...