Send "Kula Shaker " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 The return of Kula Shaker back in 2006 was greeted with the same kind of reaction to any reformation by forgotten ‘90s acts: surprise, followed by a brief flutter of excitement, followed by gradually-increasing indifference. Predictably, Kula Shaker’s live dates to mark their return were nostalgia fests. They brought in small crowds interested in hearing new material, but the majority were there to relive that brief period from 1996 to 1998 when Crispian Mills’ boys were infiltrating the Britpop-saturated ma’nstream and knocking on the door of superstardom. Pilgrim’s Progress is Kula Shaker’s second album since their 2006 reformation, following the patchy “comeback” that was 2007’s Strangefolk. It finds them – save for the Eastern, sitar-centric influences that were dominant to the point of annoying during their heyday – well and truely within their comfort zone, albeit with a more stripped-down sound, and settling into a ‘60s, psychedelic, sunny folk-rock groove. Moving on from plagiarizing Ravi Shankar’s back catalog does them plenty of favors. For a start it means they’re not returning to the limelight and lining themselves up for another bout of ridicule. Secondly, there’s subsequently much less a connection between the Kula Shaker of 2010 and the Kula Shaker who released the album K in 1996, an album that, when listened to now, sounds incredibly dated....full text |
| Hangout |
| From the moment I heard about Kula Shaker’s return to our airwaves, I was really pleased. Having followed them since the early days, but sadly missing them live, I figured this new release "Pilgrims Progress" would open doors for me to rekindle the love I had for this band. Furthermore, Altsounds caught up with Kula Shaker recently to find out what they’ve been up to [http://hangout.altsounds.com/feature...a-shaker.html]. And so, the time has come for me to put the album on the CD player and enjoy the magic of Kula Shaker in 2010. Funnily enough, I was only listening to Tattva yesterday on YouTube and showing my mates these truly trendy and cool chaps. I’ll even throw the video below for you to enjoy prior to reading the review:...full text |
| Contactmusic |
| Toward the close of the Britpop bubble Kula Shaker's Indian-influenced rock brought them a double-platinum debut record (1996's 'K') and success in the USA when they featured on the soundtrack of a Hollywood movie. Their profile on these shores may have dipped, but their popularity in Asia is indicated by a host of festival shows in the coming months to support their imminently released forth album. For those hoping that Kula Shaker are still producing the enthusiastic sounds of 'Hush' and 'Tattva', 'Pilgrims Progress' is quite a let down. The band's sound is much more organic here, with folk being the resounding influence that breaks through, beginning with the charming acoustics of 'Peter Pan RIP'. At times the main sound meshes with rock'n'roll, producing a similar output to that of The Levellers such as on 'Ophelia' and the weaker 'Modern Blues', but the better results are found when proceedings are simplified as exemplified by 'Ruby'. The highlight of the record is easily 'Barbara Ella', featuring a relaxing retro soul tone and an elegant vocal performance from Crispian Mills, though 'Winter's Call' isn't far behind and makes for a satisfying finale. Not a poor record by any means but 'Pilgrims Progress' doesn't capture the imagination anywhere near as much as the band's multi-platinum debut and is unlikely to see them making a comeback to prominence....full text |
Kula Shaker lyrics
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