Kula Shaker have today released their new album titled ‘Wormslayer’. Kula Shaker have always sounded like a band chasing ghosts through incense smoke, and ‘Wormslayer’ feels like they finally caught one, shared a drink with it, and recorded the conversation for posterity.
This isn’t nostalgia cosplay. It’s seasoned psych-rock delivered by musicians who know exactly where the weird corners are and walk straight into them anyway. Sitars shimmer, organs bloom, guitars spiral skyward, and Crispian Mills sings like a man calmly reporting from somewhere between a dream and a late-night philosophy debate you almost remember winning.
The opener glides in without ceremony, all groove and cosmic shrug, as if the band assumes you already understand the vibe. And honestly, you do. Kula Shaker deal in that warm analog glow where melody matters and songs stretch their limbs without getting self-important about it.
The album’s best moments sneak up on you. Hooks arrive disguised as jams. Choruses appear after you’ve already started nodding along. Even the longer tracks — indulgent in the best way — feel less like prog exercises and more like wandering conversations that somehow circle back home just as you were about to get lost.
Lyrically, the band still flirts with mysticism, philosophy, and the occasional wink at cosmic absurdity. It’s clever without trying to prove it’s clever — dry humor tucked into poetic turns of phrase, delivered with a smirk you can almost hear.
Production-wise, everything feels warm, loose, and alive. Nothing sounds sterile. Nothing sounds forced. The band plays like they trust their instincts more than trends, which in 2026 feels almost rebellious.
And that’s the charm here. ‘Wormslayer’ isn’t chasing modern relevance; it simply exists on its own wavelength. The grooves are confident, the melodies sticky, and the whole record hums with the comfortable swagger of musicians who’ve learned that the best trips happen when you stop checking the map.
In the end, ‘Wormslayer’ feels like a reminder: rock music doesn’t need reinvention every time out. Sometimes it just needs soul, a sense of humor, and a band willing to ride the wave a little longer than expected.
Light the incense, pour something strong, and let it spin.
About Kula Shaker & ‘Wormslayer’
Kula Shaker are a rock band that never abandoned wonder, never lost the thread, and never apologized for believing that music can be more than just sound — it can be spirit. That open-minded ethos flows throughout their brand-new album ‘Wormslayer’, a record which brims with adventure, embraces epic, cinematic atmospherics, and is electrified with the irrepressible rush of their renowned live experience.
Recorded in time-honored fashion – primarily live and analogue – ‘Wormslayer’ echoes all of the great decades of music culture without being locked into anything. Technicolor energy, retro-freakery psychedelia and celestial vocal harmonies are the core sonic touchpoints as vocalist/guitarist Crispian Mills’ poetic lyrics explore fantastical stories which play with metaphor and allegory – all capped, as ever, with his eternally restless spirituality.
Crispian Mills says, “I hope people enjoy the twists and turns that this new record takes you on. We always loved those psych records that had great songs, great production, great storytelling, and took you on a journey. We dig into that kind of experience, because we’re that kind of band. Kula Shaker has a life of its own. We’re just passengers, watching it happen in real-time.”
‘Wormslayer’ was previewed by five singles which heralded the vitality of Kula Shaker’s new chapter. From the exquisite, naturalistic production of “Charge of the Light Brigade” to the starting gun stomp of “Good Money,” they all amplified anticipation for the album to come.
And the record’s new songs exceed that excitement. The epic title track is both one of the band’s heaviest and most ambitious moments: a three-part adventure through light, darkness and ultimately balance. “The Winged Boy” and “Shaunie” join “Good Money” to create a musical psychedelic opera trilogy that tells a narrative of a classic Faustian pact. There’s also full-blown gothic crooning on “Little Darling,” which conjures Roy Orbison jamming with The Doors, while the closing “The Dust Beneath Our Feet” references Yeats and peers over the horizon towards further stories to be told in the future…
Physical copies of ‘Wormslayer’ are available to buy HERE. The band’s official store offers a limited-edition smoky purple and blue marble gatefold vinyl with a signed insert; a CD with a signed insert; and gatefold black vinyl. Rough Trade are stocking an exclusive limited edition blue vinyl format with an alternate blue sleeve.
LINKS:
https://kulashaker.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/kulashaker
https://x.com/kulashaker
https://www.instagram.com/kulashakerofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoTrZweaRXMDdY9ItQ3RiZA
