When The Karma Effect was quietly born in the pandemic, vocalist Henry Gottelier could hear in his head how he wanted the project to sound. From the organic rootsy debut, followed by the show-stopping Promised Land, they now truly arrive with their third record. This is the album he dreamed of making: the most complete, crystal-clear realisation of their ambitions yet. It’s leaner, louder, heavier, blazing with determination, and joyously larger-than-life.

Although some line-up changes occurred in the background (which sees Nathan Keevil join them on bass, Alan Taylor on drums, and Tom Pitt on keys), a turn of events that could have left them on shaky ground has instead been spun into a silver lining. Brimming with energy and fresh perspectives, the newly assembled line-up convened at The Hive Rooms, in the locale of Gatwick Airport, to nail down what would become ‘Cruel Intentions’ in July 2025.

“We holed up in there, locked the doors and didn’t come out for a month,” Henry jests. “I didn’t see the sun that summer at all.” He had brought his new colleagues sketches of the album’s songs, and although their backbones largely remained as he had written them, they were sculpted by the hands of everyone in the band, making it, first and foremost, a collaborative effort capturing shards of everyone’s style and personality.

There are different shades to their sound on this outing. Henry’s songwriting leans towards the observational more than the personal. This time, there’s a dark passion coursing through these songs, preoccupied with notions of love, lust and the thrumming sense of danger in both