Album Review: Kula Shaker, Strangefolk

2007 is the year of the comeback. From The Verve to The Spice Girls, there’s millions of rose-tinted rupees to be had. A quick tour, a new album, a book about the bust-ups and that’s a few million quid in the bank for every member, even the drummer. You can imagine the record label meetings, hear the applause and smell the cigars. It’s an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Sneaking in the back door of the reformation round table summit, like parents gate crashing their own kids’ house party, are Kula Shaker. Kula Shaker are best known for singing songs about Indian deities, covering Deep Purple and admitting to the NME that they’d love to have flaming swastikas on stage. 1996 album ‘K’ was a huge hit along with breakthrough single Tattva. Their sitar embossed indie anthems were good enough for everyone to ignore the fact that front man Crispian Mills was the nineties equivalent of Johnny Borrell – a self obsessed fool who would cry if you laughed at his jacket made from a magical flying carpet.

Nothing much has changed. “I’m a dic, a dic” sings Crispian on ‘Great Dictator (Of The Free World)’ before finishing the lyric: “I’m a dictator of the free world”. Pompous to the point of self combustion, the title track sees Crispian burbling about internet pornography and stealing Stephen Hawking’s voice box in an attempt to mimic Radiohead’s spooky classic ‘Fitter Happier’. Then it’s back to business as usual. Huge organs, fringe swinging choir boy cock rock and Indian chants are locked in place to keep fans happy but they’re as stale and rank as an ancient onion bhaje. ‘Shadowlands’ is a cringe worthy ballad about birth stars that sounds so terrible, you’ll wonder why Crispian didn’t pack this in and speak with Andrew Lloyd Webber about auditioning for the role of Joseph.

EXTRA: Just in case you didn't believe that Crispian still likes to dress up as a fool, look at these pics from a recent music video. We like the panda costume best.

Hear the new tracks here.