Starting with the introductory Dearly Beloved, the church pastor presides over a bronchially challenged congregation while an epic thunderstorm rages overhead. There is also a theatrical framing to the songs, with all the ‘action’ taking place under a badly leaking roof in the quaintly imagined village church of Little Sodbury. Wrapped within an eye-popping sleeve fresco depicting mankind’s stuggle with The Beast and populated by heroes and villains, angels and Ganeshas, clowns, warriors, knights and The Marx Brothers (yes) – as if Hieronymus Bosch had dropped mushrooms after a week of the History Channel and Bible / Mahabharata studies. I fell in love with guitar playing all over again.” “Seeing my kids playing noisy rock and roll really brought me back to life, without a shadow of a doubt.
But the album also has some of his most inspired guitar playing - for connected reasons: We were ‘filled with the holy spirit’, so to speak.” With little opportunity to be together in the same room, demos and re-writes happened in advance, slotting-in recording in Alonza’s studio in Belgium around travel restrictions. The gestation of songs was gradual, many were initially written on ukulele, because Crispian was teaching the instrument to his kids. “Whatever that spark of life was that inspired us in the beginning, it seemed to come back. “Obviously, it’s been a very weird time for everyone,” says Crispian,“I think the whole experience reinforced a lot of beliefs we shared about why we started playing music together in the first place. “There had been vague talks about ‘a ukulele project with our kids’ and half an idea to record some sacred Kirtan chants, but then the world went into lockdown, and the backdrop changed.” Kula’s previous album, ‘K.2.O’ (2016) was a 20th anniversary marking of their Britpop-slaying debut ‘K’, which, according to Crispian Mills should have been a ‘closing of the circle’, coming to an end-point after a year-long world tour. Three years further on however, Crispian and the band’s bassist and studio guru Alonza Bevan drummer Paul Winterhart and keyboardist Henry Broadbent were drawn back together. Love vs Fear Lucifer vs St Michael freedom vs autocracy Colonials vs The Indians: The Empire vs The Rebellion.Īll quite surprising for an album that wasn’t part of the plan. It spills over with blazing songs (15 in total), cross-genre sonics and a renewed super confidence in its wish to joust into the big themes:
#KULLO SKAKER FREE#
1st Congregational Church Of Eternal Love and Free Hugs is a firebrand double-album, energised and purposeful in a way that few guitar bands currently manage. The battle has not been lost to average digital earworms the zeitgeist has gone into a spin and Kula Shaker have been called forth to deliver their most inspired album in years. Kula Britannia? I don't think so.Yea, though we walk through the valley of dark shadows… and though there is a famine of supercharged, spirit jangling, fractal protest rock, there are good tidings. The end result was a band and its music that, unless something miraculous or inexplicable occurs in the interim (stern advice from the spirits of Dublin Castle, perhaps?), will both be distant memories by the end of the millennium. Moments such as this, however, were few and far between. Occasionally, they achieved the mix - Into The Deep was a rewarding if highly formulaic blend of Deep Purple and any Hollywood soundtrack you care to mention. It was guitar-heavy and tuneless, to boot. Most of the time Kula Shaker's combination of 1960s prog-rock and Eastern instrumentation sounded self-serving. Mills's dedication of a song to "the spirits of Dublin Castle" even caused hoots of derisive laughter from people who had previously been seriously frugging to Hey Dude. From the opening song (the latest hit single, Sound Of Drums), Kula Shaker came across like prissy cousins of rock'n'roll, too mannered and far too insincere for their own good. The distinct impression was that this band is already past its pulling power prime.įronted by Crispian Mills (son of Hayley, grandson of Sir John), the band must be cursing the likes of Cornershop, whose authentic brand of raggamuffin Asian pop puts the Shaker's white-spirit version to shame. Kula Shaker came on to muted applause, the grounds of Dublin Castle not exactly thronging with "the kids". The second major gig of the Heineken Green Energy Weekend had all the trappings of a damp squib at a firework display: expectations of a big bang soon fizzled out.
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