Album Review: It’s Karma It’s Cool - One Million Suburban Sunsets

Lincoln’s alt-rockers It’s Karma It’s Cool popped out One Million Suburban Sunsets last October. As their fourth studio album, a slightly new direction in sound takes it to a noticeable more guitar-driven LP; immaculately produced (with credit, somewhat unsurprisingly, to Martyn Bewick at Playing Aloud Studios) and arranged and still staying true to their unique sound, whilst showing growth and progression as a band.

OMSS starts off with Crashability, introducing bright guitar and positive atmosphere from the beginning. Initial thoughts are that it reminds me of Mew’s latter two albums in a whimsical-without-being-silly sort of way. The title track, One Million Suburban Sunsets, moves in next to showcase anthemic, sing-along vocals and a screamingly emotive guitar masterclass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kBdkP2_jrs

Swans creates a stadium-indie feeling and is one of many excellent examples of high-quality songwriting that OMSS has to offer. Progressing onwards to 21st Century Meds, which starts off with some very pretty and slow-paced guitar harmonics, developing swiftly into a very solid rock song. Thematically, OMSS is a reflection on modern life in the modern world, its wonders, and equally it’s bleakness. 21st Century Meds illustrates this point effectively and

with power.

Arcades brings along the dreampop-style as a nice flashback to Karma’s earlier releases, however still maintains this more of an acknowledgement to its old self as opposed to a step back in direction. The track blends nicely into the ponding anthem that is Serotonin, before letting way to a well-placed instrumental with Weightless, breaking up the album nicely and not seeming out of place.

These Heavy Days is an ideal tract to come after Weightless, indicating strongly that OMSS is a lot more than just a collection of songs thrown together. THD particularly showcases vocalist Jim Styring’s unique voice, poetic lyrics, and appropriate calmness despite instrumentally it being a heavier track. Sidewalk Flowers is probably my favourite track off the album as far as instrumental arrangement goes, with expert use of chord progression and loud/quiet dynamics creating a vibe bordering on apocalyptic, especially as the song progresses and builds in enormity.

Paper Tigers begins to wind the album down towards the end, however not too much or to its detriment, stepping way into Goliath’s more chilled landscapes, keeping the overall direction of the album in consideration and not causing it to lose momentum as many bands can make the mistake of doing at this late stage of the final few tracks. Explosions finishes off as a natural and quality finale, dream-like in its delivery; a (suburban?) sunset in comparison to the sunrise of the first tracks.

OMSS shows off no dead weight, just 12 songs of equal, high quality with no filler, fluff, crap songs or last-minute bad ideas thrown in to extend play. It’s Karma It’s Cool have grown as a band significantly over their time together, and the more they do the better they get. Well worth the time it takes to listen to, and one of the better albums to have come out of the ever-growing and improving Lincoln scene in recent years.

For fans of: Mew, Delta Sleep, My Morning Jacket, REM.

Jim Styring - Vocals

Martyn Bewick - Guitars

Mikey Barraclough - Bass

Adam Jolivel-Perkins - Drums

All songs recorded, mixed and mastered by Martyn Bewick at Playing Aloud Studio, Lincoln, UK.