“Yes, but what should I do?” questions a Siri-like voice before a crash of cymbals wash away the robots and a loosely funky guitar line takes our hand into Sundara Karma: Phase Two. If there’s one thing that’s abundantly clear even from the opening notes of the Reading lot’s next moves, it’s that they’re not going quietly into the night this time around. Firstly, there’s that new press shot: a gloriously unapologetic thing featuring frontman Oscar Pollock resplendent in a flowing blonde wig. Then, there’s the fact that the first words the singer speaks on his band’s big comeback are “Welcome to the abattoir/ Disconnected from who we are”. If Sundara always sat slightly on the peripheries of the indie realm – a little bit too overblown and literary to be comfortable bedfellows with the Catfish’s they were often billed alongside – then on ‘Illusions’ they’re not exactly dialling down the idiosyncrasies.
There’s a chorus that harmonises Pollock’s falsetto with a synthetic, Daft Punk-esque vocal effect, a warm, slow-building mid-song instrumental interlude and a final, whirring, spacey fade out (completed by cheering and whoops). If it all sounds like a lot, then that’s because ‘Illusions’ is undoubtedly packed with ideas. But what’s impressive here is that actually, Sundara Karma’s latest doesn’t SOUND too ritzy at all. Instead, it’s a laid-back banger that preps us for a record that’s undoubtedly going to go all in all manner of weird and wonderful new directions and shows a band cavorting around a musical playground entirely of their own.
Music video by Sundara Karma performing Illusions (Audio). (C) 2018 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
The Fat Angel Sings 