Youthful innocence that dogged the band in the 1990s has slipped from Kula Shaker. Their psychedelic tone has shifted, pragmatically in some ways and inevitably in others, as the band gets to grips with that post-fame high and their new place in the music scene. Wormslayer hears the band’s influence still connected to the Indian music culture which shaped their first run, but also a honing of psychedelic tones. Kula Shaker are seemingly cautious not to overwhelm what is now a popular sound but what was, during their heyday, frowned upon. Ahead of the curve? To some degree, sure, but that curve is long straightened out. Wormslayer continues the haphazard but occasionally inspired style of the preceding album, Natural Magick, well enough. Kula Shaker has a luxury at hand, creating light and catchy works in a style which will pull in new fans and appease the dedicated, long-standing listeners.Wormslayer does just that. It’ll blur the line between seasoned veterans of the early years and those just getting started with the band.
Kula Shaker are in solid form here and it’s enjoyable enough, if a bit light. Album opener Lucky Number is hardly a masterclass, but the upbeat tempo and attempted thrills are nice enough. There is a sincerity at the core of the band still, that much is crucial. No artist can carry on very long without the honesty of pursuing what interests them, and that’s what Kula Shaker are doing with Wormslayer. They’re pulling on a flurry of influences and seeing what sticks. A lot of it is, at the very least, an enjoyable listen. Good Money, too, is that fine enough variety. Not awful by any means, the clustered instrumental sound is at least playing to that upbeat style, but there’s much to be desired by the lyrical intent. A lust for money, the nastiness it causes, they’re inevitable tones that’ve been dealt with nuance and frustration, raging instrumentals or softer flourishes over the decades. Kula Shaker has nothing to add to that. They could if they wanted to, but that’s not their game.
Wormslayer works best when the loud and boisterous sound is front and centre. Early examples of this can be found, where the frenetic wall of sound style is used. Charge of the Light Brigade is a short and punchy moment bringing together the best bits of Kula Shaker, and even that falls a bit short of expectation. But it’s knowing not to expect much more than a band playing around in a space that’s backed by comfortable hits to roll out on tour that makes Wormslayer what it is. There’s no urgency to it, no moment that feels like a vital comment on the world around the band or an instrumental push for a fresh route through frankly dated material. Glimmers of hope is what the band manages to offer intermittently on Wormslayer. Playful “kiss me, miss me” lyrics on Little Darling just feels absent of real, heavy-hitting work. A fluffy love song at best. Still, it sounds frankly charming compared to the acoustic, dream flow of Day for Night, a miserable low.
A shame it ends up that way, too. Instrumentally sound or lyrically interesting, never the two shall meet on Wormslayer. Pick a lane and stick with it from song to song. What Kula Shaker has here is a very neat collection of concepts which need further fine-tuning. Poor quality wordplay, like Broke as Folk, do no justice for the strong vocal work Crispian Mills can still provide, nor the instrumental thrills to be found on the soft adaptations of new wave there. A shame it falls so short. Be Merciful feels more like an inevitable rocker than a natural blowout the band needed. Wormslayer is set in its ways and rarely mounts a surprise for its listeners. The Winged Boy lets the guitar work flourish, and that’s the high point of this piece. Some more tame stock, some nicely intended but tonally indifferent pieces from a band whose work has always been a bit shaky.
