Agents of Karma is a Powerhouse Joel R. Griffin, March 2004 A phaser-soaked bass guitar thrusts the melody out into the audience; pounded out with all the fury and flash of a prom date scorned. Indeed, as the bassist cues off the sharp clap of snare and hi-hat; lets the warm and full drone of the guitar's first set of chords soak in; and cuts to the lead vocal of the opening song, "One Man's Trash", he looks like he should be wearing a tattered tuxedo. Watching their set at the C-Note on New York's Lower East Side, I thought: Agents of Karma is a powerhouse trio. Each band member strung together loosely enough to breath, yet dancing around a tightly wound core of song craft, musicianship and rock n roll energy. Part classic alternative rock of the 80's and early 90's with bands like Jane's Addiction or Bauhaus; part groove and edgy funk circa 1968, like Joe Walsh's James Gang; part pure timeless rock + roll, A.O.K. has a sound that is all their own. Jay Cavanaugh threads the rhythm on thick bass lines accented with tender melodies, as he alternates between duties as bassist and lead vocalist. Just when I was thinking what a great bass player he is, he transforms back into a singer with cutting lyrical delivery and focused energy. Cavanaugh's lines of poetry are at times, humorously polemical in lines like "Fascism for the home" and at other times romantically wistful and almost dream-like. In every song the melody hangs loosely off each player, while the core keeps them fused to the droning slant-6 engine of the rhythm and vocals. At times they play off each other with the subtlety of jazz musicians; now drummer, now lead guitarist blasts through the wall. And yet the audience knows only good can come from this ferocity. The Drummer, Dan Fielding, dances in and around the beat, from delicate touches and intricate rhythmic stylings to the boom-slap of classic rock n roll. The band's implausible transitions between the dreamy and the bombastic are carried off seamlessly by the lead guitarist, Conrad Sparnroft, who knows when to ride, when to get off and when to drive straight over the bridge. Capable of shredding a melody to pieces, this guitarist carries each song to its loftiest heights without breaking it up. He cranks it, contorts it, mocks it with gadgetry, even shreds it completely, but, as a symbol for the band as a whole, he always returns to the rock n roll heart of the song, which is what audiences to will come back for!