An unusually warm winter afternoon comes with a natural source of energy waiting for the right person to release it. Thus eternally sunny Jenna Bollard, lead singer of Berklee quintet Rising Karma, seemed destined to shine during yesterday's performance at All Asia. The band’s engaging blend of pop-soul riffs and pop-philosophy lyrics stands out from traditional “college rock” fare. Against that backdrop, it’s the musical equivalent of a 45-degree February day.
The live Rising Karma experience is entirely different from their studio recordings; to get a feel, listen to the songs “Wiser Me” and “Vile and Sweet.” The group’s recorded sound is, like “Wiser Me,” comfortably mellow. The track’s sparse instrumentation—much like “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam—allows Bollard’s lyrics to sparkle. Here one can clearly absorb the message that Rising Karma hopes to project: a dreamy confidence that even the negative events in our lives strengthen us in the long run.
Meanwhile, in concert, the band loosens its focus on the lyrics, letting their natural enthusiasm as performers take center stage. It’s the physical representation of a hook from the chorus of “Vile and Sweet”: they’re letting go of their philosophy. The effect is particularly powerful in a small venue like All Asia. One look at the intensity of drummer Liz Klehm during a cover of the usually-breezy “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and you can almost feel the musicians trying to make the most of every second on stage.
The group’s influences are evident in their selection of covers—Joss Stone’s “Fell in Love with a Boy” and Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” in addition to the aforementioned “Some Kind of Wonderful.” In combining these disparate genres, they have managed to carve out a niche that’s a bit hard to place in today’s musical landscape.
With two more Boston performances in the next 6 weeks (Feb. 20th at All Asia, and March 11th at Bill’s Bar as part of the Berklee’s Finest series), now is a perfect opportunity to discover a great local band and say “I knew them when they were starting out.”
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