Rival Karma
Photograph
London based rock duo Rival Karma has been releasing music since 2019 and gigging around the UK and western Europe. The duo, Martin (guitar & vocals) and PJ (drums), have racked up an impressive social media following and look to put on a killer show - with just the two of them. Not quite sure how they found each other and formed this band (Martin is half French and half American, and PJ is from Italy), but they’ve definitely found a killer sound. Think STP, the Foos, maybe a little Masters of Reality. This track, “Photograph” comes from their second E.P. “Powerduism” that was released this month.
Brooding start with effects, then a killer drum fill and groove around 87 BPM underneath a dirty guitar riff. The images we get with this vibe are of a huge V8 rolling top speed through the high deserts of the Western US. It’s a massive vibe. Vocals come in on top with a solid melody - note the absence of a bass line right here in Verse 1 - great way to set it all up while leaving room for an explosion with the coming sections. Nice drop out of the band for the first pre-chorus - cool use of a Rhodes patch to add some tenderness to the track that coincides with the lyrics - really love it when bands pay attention to details like that, making the music MATCH the lyrical mood. Also really dig the difference in the vocal compression between the first verse and this first pre-chorus. It could just be an after effect of that whole band dropping out, but it’s got a wee bit of crunch in V1, then it’s wide open in the pre. Dig it.
With the first chorus, here comes that explosion when mentioned above, and it comes in two forms. First, the bass drops in the fill out the EQ, but even better is the unexpected chord change. On top of all that are added guitar parts and some great BG’s. Love the end of the progression too, that properly lifts you out of the chorus and into a bit of a breakdown section before Verse 2. This would be cool to see live. For verse 2, if you think they’ve just repeated the lyrics, you need to go back and listen to it again.
After the second Pre and second chorus (which they extend a bit), we get another cool breakdown with a simple but highly effective dirty Rhodes section that leads you into a half-tempo outro. Have to say how much we enjoy all the tones and the mix. (Oooo! Nice snare fill in the outro!) Great separation in the production (we believe it was produced by Sam Miller), this is a solid track with a killer hook.
Make sure you scroll down to catch links to all their socials and hear some other tracks. My personal favorite is probably “Jesus is from Chico.” If you’ve ever been to Chico, well, you’ll probably laugh at the title like I did. Musically it’s a f’ing brilliant riff and groove. Love the harmonies on the verses, the breakdown before the chorus, the hook of the chorus and all the guitar tones. This is alt-rock at a high level. Check out there first single, too. "Chemical Courage” has a massive mix, great changes in the groove and Martin’s solid vocals. It’s the perfect first single for a band like this…. bold, well produced, smart. This is definitely a band to keep on your list.