About Last Night EP Review - @_TheRealKarma (words by @RamseySaidWHAT)

I have a ritual in the days leading one of my favorite artist's release. I listen to their discography from start to finish before pressing play on the new project for the first time. I think that's the best way to see the journey in its entirety. Terry Pratchett, an old fantasy novelist once said: "If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going." Let's do Kärma some justice by paying attention to the whole story.

Today's tale takes us on a journey from Bandcamp, to Soundcloud, and now to modern streaming services with Life After Love, Sunny Side Up, and now About Last Night. I think that's a testament to how seasoned Kärma is. After listening it'd be a disrespect to go into this project expecting to hear something specifically. She's too complex to be characterized without listening for sonics, prose, and cadence. You just have to hear for yourself. Let's dive in.

The EP is a little over 15 minutes so it's important you don't miss anything. It begins with Easy which got blessed with a visual treatment courtesy, HoMEMADE Films. Macc McCray even makes a cameo playing the love interest at the record store. It's cute, and reassuring words coming from a lover. The music is allegro and her voice is bright. It makes for a great opener to the project.

We played Depend on Me in the last episode of A-Side B-Side Podcast. This is probably the most traditional sounding R&B she's dropped in the last two projects. I'll explain that later. If you go back and listen to our interview with the Jersey City songstress, she explains her creative process as not just a singer but engineer as well. When you record yourself it comes with it's good and bad. She knows her own voice probably better than most acts which makes the mixing process a little more difficult. I didn't even know Kärma could even reach into tenor so low. I'm impressed by the range of her lower register. She shines at the end of this track with the three part harmony. She describes them as syrup harmonies. It's very intricate and we hear the same in the next song, Promise. Where the first two tracks are optimistic songwriting this acoustic ballad is much more somber.

The project closes out with Speak Up. Sonically, I feel like it could have been a leftover song from her last EP, Sunny Side Up. It just has that feel where it's a little unorthodox and falls in line with a subgenre of R&B instead of the structured sound our ears are accustomed to. This isn't a bad thing. It just proves more and more that Kärma knows herself and her sound. Make Me Say didn't make the cut which doesn't surprise me. She isn't a fan of singles so to see it make the project would be unlike her. Besides it didn't fit the theme. About Last Night is further proof that she is making the crossover from novice to veteran in more ways than one. If I could change anything about this EP I'd make it longer because I love it. She sure knows how to make us miss her. In the meantime let's run it up while it's still fresh. Check out About Last Night after the break. The soundcloud version has the bonus tracks too. I need you to feel this.