Kill Me (EP)
Kill Me is an extended play released by British indie rock band, Sundara Karma. The EP was released on 24 November 2020 through Chess Club Records.
| Kill Me | ||||
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | 24 November 2020 | |||
| Recorded | June – July 2020 | |||
| Genre | Experimental pop | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Clarence Clarity | |||
| Sundara Karma chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Kill Me | ||||
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Background and recording
Following touring in support of their sophomore album, Ulfilas' Alphabet, lead singer Oscar Pollock took most of 2020 off from music. Pollock told NME in a October 2020 interview that he "got to a point where I felt lost within myself".[1] Pollock further explained that he spent much of 2020 coping with existentialism and depression.[1] Pollock stated that ahead of the release of the EP, which was recorded throughout 2020, that it "seems to have resolved".[1]
The entire album was recorded and produced during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The songs were recorded by the band in their personal studio, while the production by Clarence Clarity was undertaken via phone calls and e-mail.[1]
Style and composition
Oscar Pollock told NME that the EP is more expansive than the traditional guitar-driven tracks found in their first two studio albums. "[It is] vaster and less emo. I was saying over a year ago that I was ready to move on from ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’, and I had a bunch of songs kicking around. But, if I don't get given a deadline, I'll just let songs rot on a hard drive".[1]
Track listing
All music is composed by Oscar Pollock, Dom Cordell, Ally Baty, and Haydn Evans.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kill Me" | 3:41 |
| 2. | "O Stranger" | 3:22 |
| 3. | "Your Touch" | 5:09 |
| 4. | "Artifice" | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Lifelines" | 4:25 |
| Total length: | 21:05 | |
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Album of the Year | 80/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| DIY |   [3] |
| Dork | [4] |
Kill Me was well received by contemporary music critics upon release. On review aggregator website, Album of the Year, Kill Me has an average rating of 80 out of 100.[2] Stephen Ackroyd, writing for Dork magazine, gave the album a positive review, saying that the EP, "is a collection of tracks that sends Sundara streaming into the starlight". Ackroyd further praised Clarance Clarity's production work on the album. Ackroyd summarized the EP as an exciting preamble of what could come on the band's third full-length album.[4]
Writing for DIY magazine, Emma Swann gave the album four stars out of five. Swann called the album a sprawling album that can get lost at times, especially with Clarity's production. However, Swann said that because of the band's "knack for a hook, and love of a big chorus is what keeps ‘Kill Me’ from descending into total chaos".[3]
References
- Earls, John (1 October 2020). "Sundara Karma on the depression and desire behind explosive new single 'Kill Me' and its Hannah Diamond-directed video". NME. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- "Sundara Karma - Kill Me - Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- Swann, Emma (24 November 2020). "Sundara Karma - Kill Me EP Review". DIY. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- Ackroyd, Stephen (24 November 2020). "Sundara Karma - Kill Me EP". Dork. Retrieved 3 December 2020.