Explore: Thank Funk

Sundara Karma recently revealed they'll be releasing some extra tracks for a deluxe version of Youth Is Only Fun In Retrospect and the release of Explore soon followed. The news is precisely what's necessary to lift up their mild let down of a debut album. Funk heavy, this is a new but natural progression for them. There's tinges of Vitamin, Palm Honey, David Bowie, Luther Vandross and Kool & The Gang, and this is truly the future we need. It's wonderful to see all the influences they've had over the last few years rubbing off on them into this amalgamation of groovy 80s Disco. Perhaps their most iconic gig to date was Readipop back in 2015 with a lineup of Haize, Vitamin and foetus Sundara with some questionable hair lengths (Dom). This could well have been their peak, think Oasis at Knebworth but a 200 capacity venue in an industrial estate in Berkshire, but alas, the band have come full circle and the Vitamin-esque lightheartedness of Explore keeps it fresh and relevant. We can always rely on Oscar Pollock to deliver mesmerising lyrics that need a bit of thinking about and Explore almost shows resemblance to She Said, Lose The Feeling and Olympia in that respect. As much as this is exciting and wonderful, this isn't it. They seem to be progressing with our taste providing exactly what we need when we need it. If you weren't already excited for the future of Sundara Karma, you should be now.