EP Review : Karobela – Karobela

Formed in 2013, Kent based alt-rock band Karobela follow up on the success of their singles ‘Skin & Bone’ and ‘Liquor Heart’, both of which were playlisted on Planet Rock radio,  with the release of their hotly anticipated debut, self-titled EP on June 5^th.

Opening up with ‘Candy’, Karobela immediately set about putting a marker down with a track that races out of the blocks, pausing just long enough to allow Lauren Diamond to join in with her impressive pipes, which flow along with the melody perfectly. There’s some great guitar work in here from Rob Freeman too, which all comes together in this well written opener.

The indie rock vibe of ‘Skin & Bone’ bounces in for track 2 and doesn’t let up for the next three and a half minutes. With plenty of cool riffing and Katie King’s bass this is a track that makes you sit up and take notice.

Bringing the tempo down for the latest single from the EP, ‘Liquor Heart’ finds the band taking things in a slightly different direction. Soaring vocals and a calmer backing from the band, result in a track with a more mature sound, whilst still retaining some nice riffs, that shows a band who are learning their craft quickly,

The thumping intro of ‘Good Luck Trying’ is next and Diamond gets the vocal chords working once again as the band stomp their way through this hard rocking track, and then step it up once again for ‘No Mercy’ which takes no prisoners and has some killer riffs in it, which I just loved. There is plenty of power here, that is controlled expertly to deliver a great tune.

The final track is a stripped back version of the opening track. ‘Candy (Unwrapped)’ catches the emotion & feel of the vocal performance from Lauren Diamond with a subtle backing from the band and shows they can pull off a softer number as well.

It can’t be too long before Karobela are picked up by a label and given the exposure their dirty brand of rock deserves and this EP certainly confirms they have what it takes.

Reviewed by : Howard Whitelaw (for MPM)

Track Listing:
Candy
Skin And Bone
Liquor Heart
Good Luck trying
No Mercy
Candy (Unwrapped)

Karobela Line-up:
Vocals: Lauren Diamond
Bass: Katie King
Guitar: Rob Freeman
Drums: Ben Gower

Connect with Karobela:
Website: www.karobela.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/karobelaofficial/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karobela_official/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/karobelaband