Karmadoza
Karmadoza (MCD) 2006 Gaia Disk
Karmadoza is a group of Canadians that are related to Madking Ludwig and Floating Widget, a kind of collective where members appear in several musical line-ups, juggling time and resources as interest permits. It kinda reminds me of Amon Duul back in the 60s and 70s; there's a thread of psychedelic continuity in there somewhere. And although it's doubtful that any of the Karmadoza folks were even born back when Duul was practicing their musical freak-outs, it's clear that they share an appreciation for the mind-expanding possibilities of music. Karmadoza are about knitting together the high end, in the form of the strong vocals of Vicky Martel, with a low end of Sabbathy heaviness provided by... everyone else, using a blanket of warm guitar fuzz as the common musical element. There's no cookie-cutter stoner/doom in evidence, though. Like their psychedelic forefathers, Karmadoza is not afraid to inject any element into the body of their music, as long as it seems right. 'Divide' provides a most effective intro of fuzzy doom, while 'The Words Unsaid' is a jazz-influenced rockin' shuffle, more reminiscent of P.J. Harvey than Bottom. 'Obvious Joe' is a galloping desert stormer, with delicious fuzz overlay that would do any Swedish stoner band proud. 'She'll Come Back' is a hard psych cover of the Turtles tune from back in 1970; head Turtles Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (Flo & Eddie) themselves honored Karmadoza by selecting it for a compilation of all-female vocal covers of Turtles classics. Its slight poppiness stands a bit apart on the disc, but easily works within an overal retro stoner framework. If the B52's got back together and joined the 21st century stoner/doom underground, it might sound like this. Then again... who knows? In any event, this EP is a fresh slice for those jaded by too much HOF and Mastodon; open-minded miners of underground gold such as Rawjaw, Lost Goat, 7 Year Bitch, and Polly Jean herself may want to sink their delicately carved fangs into this fuzzy delight.	1. Divide 2. The Words Unsaid 3. Dreamnaut 4. Obvious Joe 5. She'll Come Back Approx. 19 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh