Sundara Karma

Hometown: Reading
Lineup: Oscar Lulu (vocals, guitar), Haydn Evans (drums), Ally Baty (guitar) and Dom Cordell (Bass)
For fans of: Blaenavon, The Drums, Swim Deep
Key track: ‘Freshbloom’
See them live: The band will make their London debut early in September
Connect: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter

We’re not gonna pretend we have a clue what Sundara Karma is, but this painfully young Berkshire quartet seem comfortable enough operating under the moniker; even if it sounds like Bollywood megastar, or a particularly benevolent type of ice-cream.

Oscar Lulu, Haydn Evans, Ally Baty and Dom Cordell are all seventeen at the time of writing, having got together under the Sundara Karma banner two and a half years ago, so that basically means they were snoozing in GCSE maths by day and chugging out huge trop-pop guitar hooks by night.

That approach seems to have served them okay so far, as the first track they’re officially releasing, ‘Freshbloom’, ably displays a strong affinity for key indie conventions. Big hunky percussion. Check. Louche reverbed guitar twanging. Check. A frontman with a hazy paisley-printed lilt to rival Jonathan Pierce. Check. Massive summas bliss choruses, replete with sweetly cooed Swim Deep ‘oooh’s. Check. Yup Sundara Karma have all you surf-rock and B-town (sorry) aficionados want and then some.

‘More refreshing than the sunshine’ boasts their Facebook page, and while we’re not so quick to compare them to everyone’s favourite raging ball of fire, these Reading tykes are certainly a chirpy compliment to the current Vit D blitz we’re experiencing.

Download ‘Freshbloom’ below, free of charge.