The third album by Coolonaut is the Karma Smile; this is a rare case of an artist talking about the present clearly with reference to the past. He was born in Scotland and is recording in remote rural Australia. He has left a document that is both commonplace and desperate. Not only is it a homage to the 1960s, but it is a protest album that relies on the coziness and roughness of an old 8-track machine. The album begins with confabulation which is a song and jumps forward with sharpness of the guitar and strong drumming. It brings in the theme of the album; the way truth is handled in a world that is perceived as distorted. The music is then made fuzzy and Beatles-like with Be On The Right Side that struggles against remaining uninvolved in a crisis.
Karma Smile is unique in that it does not have a polished modern touch. Coolonaut achieves an analog, sincere sound by avoiding flawless digital sound. The unprocessed sound suits the weighty lyrics. He talks in the title track about the absence of empathy in the current power structures, singing of the slaughter of innocent humans in plain words that are so hard to find in the modern rock. Although the subject matter is serious, such songs as Volvoman or Boganville still add personality and humor to it.
The album comes to an end with the rebellious I Don’t Need To Apologise, which provides a sense of perseverance to the listeners. Karma Smile is an ambitious, targeted album that demonstrates that psychedelic music can still comment on society with great power.
