KARMELLA’s GAME “What He Doesn’t Know Won’t Hurt Him EP”
This the debut release for both KARMELLA’s GAME and Speedbump Recordings, the latter of which has been a Baltimore scene fixture for years through clubs and show promotions. Reading over the bio of KARMELLA’s GAME pointed me towards a line that noted that the band sounds like “Debbie Gibson fronting THE RENTALS with LIFETIME the background.” I’ll agree with the first two-thirds of that assessment, but I’m still looking for a pulse of Lifetimes anywhere throughout the 21 minutes that make up this EP. Lead singer KTO has an incredibly vibrant voice, and is clearly the band’s “star” component. I’m fairly sure that without her beautiful pipes, the moog factor on here would make me fling this disc out my window in a flash, but her charming, yet aggressive tone melts my brain. Another strong point of reference on here would be THE ANNIVERSARY’s fantastic disc, “Designing A Nervous Breakdown” (before they went weird and imploded). “What He Doesn’t Know…” has all the requisites of an infectious, pop-based disc firmly held down, and can only hope that big things lie ahead for this band.
Speedbump
