Amid January 30th’s album deluge, a number of 90s indie veterans peaked over the parapet.
Kula Shaker exist in the sort of musical career hinterland that just wouldn’t happen anymore. Back in the nineties a couple of massive singles could still land you a decent run in the musical business. Debut album K was one of the fastest selling debut albums of the decade, despite a big mix of positive and negative reviews. In the age of Britpop, The Beatles were once again revered at the centre of the UK music world. Whilst the Gallagher brothers always claimed the Liverpudlians as a guiding light, musically Oasis were always more Slade than The Beatles. Kula Shaker could legitimately describe themselves as influenced by the Fab Four, though it was always the George Harrison led mystical Indian influenced end of their oeuvre that they mined. Crispian Mills had also spent time in India and fallen in love with aspects of mysticism. The first phase of Kula Shaker fell apart after some naive comments of Mill’s regarding the swastika were misinterpreted and ran with by the ever-offensive UK tabloid press.
They eventually returned for a third album in 2007, at which point they have appeared on and off over the years. There has been more of a creative urgency of late with albums released in 2022, 2024 and now 2026. The recent ressurgance has been powered by a restoration of the original band line-up who had not all been together since the initial split. All of this is to say that Kula Shaker vary between significant band and total joke, depending on your historical perspective and musical taste.
Basically, you would not have been surprised if the new album was an empty shell of nothingness. However, it is overwhelmingly decent and will hopefully allow for a reappraisal of the band by some of their harsher critics over the years. Creatively there is no radical change of methods here. The band keep to their interests and strengths, all guitar, Hammond organ and Indian influenced traditional instruments. This is one of their most consistent collections of songs they have ever put out, there are no weak links and there is some really strong songwriting skill on show.
Opener ‘Lucky Number’ is a classic 70s style indie/glam stomp. ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ leans more into psychedelia. ‘Little Darling’ is a beautiful sixties tinged effort with some Beatles style vocals. ‘Broke As Folk’ recalls The Doors, with a slightly more melodic chorus. ‘Wormslayer’ leans more heavily into Indian mythology. ‘Day For Night’ is low key Bob Dylan.
The album has a narrative through line featuring a character called Shaunie who pops up on various tracks. He is an innocent who is preyed upon by greedy forces, though ultimately overcomes through belief and positivity. Central title track ‘Wormslayer’ is a great Deep Purple meets Queen rock-out (via a psychedelic Indian breakdown) that clocks in at over seven minutes.
Wormslayer is far better than expected and surprisingly enjoyable. An old fashioned comfort hug of simplicity that wins out in these overly complex times.
Essential Tracks: ‘Charge of the Light Brigade,’ ‘Broke as Folk,’ and ‘Wormslayer.’
Leave a Reply