The Karma Effect have been tagged as Dirty vintage rock n roll; the bastard lovechild of Black Crowes vs Aerosmith with a stepsibling of Greta Van Fleet and this London quintet made up of Henry Gottelier (lead vocals and guitar), Robbie Blake (guitar), Seb Emmins (keyboards & vocals), Liam Quinn (bass) and Ash Powell (drums and vocals) do little to evade this tag over the next forty-five minutes.
They begin their set with the blistering `Wrong Again` from their last self-titled album and it`s a cracking introduction to this band. Another couple of cuts from the same album follow with `Mercy` and the bouncy `Doubt She’s Coming Back`. Henry imbibes a hot drink, a first on stage as he`s trying to ward off the lurgy and heads into the band`s new single `Livin It Up` which is released as I write this. There`s a funky intro into a new track `The River` before they share `Better Days`. A final two tracks from the debut album `Steal Your Heart` and `Testify` lead us out and leave us wanting more. This blues rock outfit finish up this year with a few more dates with tonight`s headliners before their back on the road with the wonderful Bad Touch in mid-February. Miss them at your peril. These guys to me could be the UK`s answer to The Black Crowes.
Established nearly ten years ago These Wicked Rivers are heading up a list of bands that are the new wave of rock and roll happening all across the United Kingdom. They share a brand of blues-infused modern rock with influences from the likes of Black Stone Cherry and Rival Sons. The band of John Hartwell, Arran Day, Jon Hallam, and Dan Southall are joined by Rich Wilson on keys whom I think is a permanent member these days. The band are on an eleven date outing named the `Force of Nature tour` with said named album due in early March.
The band kick off with title track of the new album `Force of Nature` and I have to say if the rest of the album is anything like this it`s gonna be a belter. We head back to the last album `Eden` for the scorching `Evergreen` before another new number `Black Gold` is shared. It`s back to 2017 for the reflective and thought provoking ballad of `When The War Is Won` and crunching `That Girl` with its harmonica hues.
`Floyd` and `World in Chains` slow down the pace but for me one of the stand out moments was the new single `Lonely Road` which was stripped back with acoustic guitar, keys and vocals followed by a track that has only been shared on this tour `Just To Be a Man` which was a real rock out.
`Shine On` ups the pace and noise levels before the show is closed out with the stunning `Testify`. The group don`t go in for the ego trip of leaving the stage and coming back to wild applause but offer up a final track instead with the almost spiritual and redemptive `Don’t Pray For Me`. The fellas take their deserved bows a quick crowd selfie and we all traipse out pretty stunned by the last eighty minutes we`ve just witnessed.
I last caught up with These Wicked Rivers three and a half years ago and I have to admit that this evening I really felt that this was a band on the cusp of something really big. I genuinely hope so with a new album due early next year These Wicked Rivers look set to move up to substantially larger venues if not stadiums.
They have another seven dates before the end of this year so take your last chance of seeing these boys in a venue where you won`t need binoculars, you have been warned.
