KULA SHAKER - K [074646782224]

Inital pressings of the U.S. release of K included a bonus CD single, TATTVA LUCKY 13 MIX.

The Britpop quartet Kula Shaker appears to have raided the closets of its favorite bands in the making of its debut album. K contains a bluesy, retro ambience very much like The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. The full-throttled guitars sound like those of Oasis. And a hefty dose of Hindu mysticism runs rampant throughout--a la Cornershop.

But Kula Shaker manages to make something original of all those borrowed parts. Rising above its influences, Kula Shaker creates a niche of Britpop in which transcendence is the goal. Amidst the blues-drenched guitars and the Hindi chanting, the band is hard at work building something spiritual and sensual. Kula Shaker isn't afraid of a tamboura, using the exotic instrument on several tracks. Nor is it afraid to be linked with the Grateful Dead, eulogizing that band in the track "Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There." But Kula Shaker is no freewheeling "jam" band; there's a precision to the musicianship on this record that cannot be ignored.