17-09-2010
CEPHALIC CARNAGE Bolwerk, Sneek
17-09-2010
CAITLIN ROSE De Spot, Middelburg
18-09-2010
WOOST Plein 79, Den Bosch
view all
CEPHALIC CARNAGE Bolwerk, Sneek
17-09-2010
CAITLIN ROSE De Spot, Middelburg
18-09-2010
WOOST Plein 79, Den Bosch
view all
Kula Shaker
Summer 2010 sees Kula Shaker release their fourth studio album 'Pilgrim's Progress'. The album follows 2007's independent release 'Strangefolk', which saw the band return to their live roots with international touring lasting over two years. In 2009 the band decided to build their own recording studio outside the famous medieval brewery town of Chimay, Belgium. "It was a practical decision as well as a creative one,” says singer Crispian Mills. What they didn't count on however was the subtle effect the surrounding countryside would have, both upon the music and themselves. “We were tucked away deep in the Ardennes forests, it's a very old and enchanting place. Before long, our carefully laid plans to rock'n'roll all night, gave way to medieval musings”. And the resulting long player, as to be expected, takes in all the influences you could hope for from the band that made the one of the fastest selling debut albums ever and, as the songs themselves suggest, draws on unusual and unpredictable influences, from fairy tale, Shakespearian tragedy, Morricone, and full tilt old school psychedelica. “What we ended up with musically was a surprise, especially to us.” Crispian continues, 'as we started recording, many of the rocking tracks weren't hitting the mark, whereas slower, rambling tunes, with titles like Ophelia, and Winter's Call seemed to have this charmed, somnambulant life of their own. As we ploughed on, and the album began to take shape, we could see how much we'd been influenced by our environment, by the mood of those woods and streams, with all their ghosts and memories.” Opening track and forthcoming single 'Peter Pan R.I.P.' kicks off with a grand cavalcade of cellos in this haunting elegy, inspired by Andrew Birkin's 'J.M Barrie and the Lost Boys'. 'Ophelia', is next up and takes a much folksier slant with its dual picking guitar melodies and what must be the longest bird song play out since Pink Floyd took a trip to Cirrus Minor. Third track, 'Modern Blues', commences with the rather unsettling ravings of a Hindu witch, before cranking up the pace into a driving acoustic blues wig out. 'Only Love' a standout track, is a beautiful summer day of a song. Around halfway through the album comes 'All Dressed Up', and 'Cavalry' - two of the songs on the record that conjure up the wild West and the super cinemascope world of John Ford, Sergio Leone, and Ennio Morricone. 'Ruby' a charming, waltzy love song, swishes and swirls like a Spanish dress, whilst 'Figure It Out', awash with chants and Indian exotica, reminds one just what a great psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker are. 'Barbara Ella' is, as the name suggests, all high kitsch and thigh high fun, fuzztones, and seriously heavy breathing. Song ten, the Morricone-esque instrumental 'When A Brave Meets A Maid' sounds like it just rode across the prairie to meet us, with Mills performing on santoor. The penultimate track 'To Wait Till I Come', is, another beguiling, widescreen desertscape of a song, fit for a David Lynch nightmare. And 'Winter's Call', the album's majestic finale, is as uplifting as it is deathly, featuring the most ear shattering pipe organ ever committed to tape, and what sounds like a guitar solo unleashed at the gates of Hell - a magnificent punctuation mark to 'Pilgrim's Progress'; Kula Shaker's superbly imaginative and unpredictable fourth album.
26-08-2010
Daybroke saboteert de MustSee bioscoop in Tilburg
26-08-2010
WOOST op tour met THE VAN JETS
26-08-2010
Caro Emerald verbreekt record Michael Jackson
13-08-2010
Caro Emerald evenaart Michael Jackson
05-07-2010
Debuut Caro Emerald dubbel platina
Daybroke saboteert de MustSee bioscoop in Tilburg
26-08-2010
WOOST op tour met THE VAN JETS
26-08-2010
Caro Emerald verbreekt record Michael Jackson
13-08-2010
Caro Emerald evenaart Michael Jackson
05-07-2010
Debuut Caro Emerald dubbel platina











