{"id":27860,"date":"2026-01-27T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=27860"},"modified":"2026-01-25T12:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T12:51:14","slug":"kula-shaker-wormslayer-strange-f-o-l-k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=27860","title":{"rendered":"Kula Shaker \u2013 \u2018Wormslayer\u2019 (Strange F.O.L.K.)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kula Shaker seemed like a band out of time when they emerged during the height of Brit Pop fever in 1996. Their heady mix of retro 60\u2019s pop rock with lashings of Eastern mysticism was a far cry from the stadium filling sounds of Oasis and Blur, but they still hit the top of the hit parade with their debut album \u2018K\u2019, thanks to strong singles such as \u2018Hey Dude\u2019, \u2018Tattva\u2019 and their high energy take on Deep Purple\u2019s \u2018Hush\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, some 30 years later and still with the original line up, Crispian Mills and the boys return with \u2018Wormslayer\u2019, their 8th<\/sup> long player. Following 2022\u2019s ambitious concept opus \u20181st<\/sup> Congregational Church Of Eternal Love (And Free Hugs)\u2019 and the ensuing \u2018Natural Magick\u2019 in 2024, \u2018Wormslayer\u2019 feels like the third album of a trilogy, and a return to their roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opener \u2018Lucky Number\u2019 has a glam rock stomp, a bombastic intro with a trademark vocal and a sense of purpose from the frontman. Next up, \u2018Good Money\u2019 rides on Sgt. Peppers style multilayered vocals, it descends into 90\u2019s inspired dance beats and swirling psychedelia. With an instant melody that stays the course, it was a surefire single choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Madchester club beats and rhythms are about as modern as Kula Shaker get on \u2018Wormslayer\u2019, as theirs is a timeless sound, a band who are a law unto themselves. They do mix it up nicely, though, creating a diverse listening experience. \u2018Charge Of The Light Brigade\u2019 is rhythmically intense, trippy and follows that signature spiritual groove. The glorious \u2018Little Darling\u2019 is full of ringing, bright chords, 60\u2019s pop aesthetics and fantastic lead guitar work. \u2018Broke As Folk\u2019 is a strong contender with a spaghetti western-inspired intro that creates atmosphere. It flows into a sweet melody, drenched in swathes of Hammond that will surely entice even the most casual of Doors fans. And that\u2019s just side one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Side two kicks off with a gentle acoustic strum and sweet layered vocals. The song in question, \u2018Shaunie\u2019 has Led Zep 3 vibes, which is never a bad thing. The singer\u2019s storytelling is on point, and he draws you in, eager to discover which way it’s heading. \u2018The Winged Boy\u2019 and closer \u2018Dust Beneath Our Feet\u2019 are both trippy and atmospheric, the former builds into a cinematic mantra, while the latter feels like the epilogue of a film. Both tracks bookend the epic 7-minute-plus title track that takes all sorts of twists and turns. Here, Kula Shaker do what Kula Shaker do best, the song is a riff-heavy groove machine that is both psychedelic and progressive and carries a few surprises along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Kula Shaker\u2019s message of spirituality was lauded by the music press back in 1996, 30 years later, more people are aware of what is bad, what is good and can maybe connect with a band that was seen by many as a novelty act back in the 90\u2019s. While \u2018Wormslayer\u2019 is in no way a departure soundwise, Kula Shaker\u2019s retro sound is as fresh and vital as any new band out there today, and props to a band that is still going, doing things on their own terms, independently and having as much success and fun as they were having 30 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kula Shaker seemed like a band out of time when they emerged during the height of Brit Pop fever in 1996. Their heady mix of retro 60\u2019s pop rock with lashings of Eastern mysticism was a far cry from the stadium filling sounds of Oasis and Blur, but they still hit the top of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9004,9006,9008],"class_list":["post-27860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-kula-shaker","tag-strange-f-o-l-k","tag-wormslayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27860"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27864,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27860\/revisions\/27864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}