by Kula Shaker represent a swaggering oddity within British pop culture. They headlined Glastonbury twice in the same weekend, supported Oasis at Knebworth, and secured one of the fastest-selling debut albums in history. None of this should have been the case.
If you swanned into any A&R office in the world and said, ‘I’ve uncovered your next big band: they’re a mystical blend of psychedelia, transcendental philosophy, and Kurt Vonnegut-like storytelling,’ you’d be laughed out of town. Alas, Kula Shaker have made a living out of defying odds, expectations, and what is known to the public ear.
Their latest album sees them liberated and pointing fingers in their own quirky, original manner. As frontman Crispian Mills explains of the lead single, ‘Good Money’, “It’s a story about a boy in a small community, who grows wings and how the local people come to treat him. Some think he’s a freak, some think he’s a cherub, others cynically see him as an opportunity to make money…. Is it a metaphor for the music business? I’d say it’s a metaphor for life.”
These tales are everywhere on Wormslayer, the new album due out in January 2026. The record finds the band repackaging everything that they have loved before in a whirlwind of evident inspiration. As Mills added, “I hope people enjoy the twists and turns that this new record takes you on. We always loved those psychedelic records that had great songs, great production, great storytelling, and took you on a journey.”
So, with unknown journeys and past loves in mind, we asked the band to recommend us one of their deepest inspirations that we’ve probably never heard. They came back with a breakdown of the masterful ‘It’s a Sin to Go Away’ by We All Together. They breakdown the little-known 1973 record from the Peruvian outlaws below.
Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker on ’It’s a Sin to Go Away’:
Crispian Mills: “Before Tame Impala were even a twinkle in their father’s ballsacks, brothers Saul and Manuel Cornejo from We All Together were weaving their melodic web of psychedelic dreamery from deepest darkest Peru. For decades, fans in the West were strictly niche, but after the compilation album Nuggets 2 featured the band’s song, ‘It’s a Sin to Go Away’, a few more lucky listeners got the chance to sample their Peruvian delights.”
“The track opens with Fudgey organ swirls, ushering you into the rainforest, before removing your still-beating heart with fuzz bass, backwards shizz, echo-drenched vocals – and not a panpipe in sight. We’re not sure what they’re singing about, but it sounds prophetic: something to do with human sacrifice and tortilla chips.”
“Thirty years later, some thieving Aussie buggers (fuelled no doubt by a night of marmalade sandwiches) would climb the ancient stone temple steps to fulfil the Cornejo brothers’ prophecy, taking We All Together’s sound into the 21st Century hit parade.”
As the Peruvian group arrived in the 1970s, the band looked to bring the latter psychedelic legacy of The Beatles forward into the new decade.
Alongside their Uruguayan buddies, Los Shakers, the band pioneered the sound of a South American hippy dream, but sadly, both acts struggled for wider success beyond niche appreciation among ‘70s collectors prior to the Nuggets 2 compilation.
That same seamless blend of groove and Paul McCartneyisms can be heard in Wormslayer as Kula Shaker look set to bring back lava lamps in 2026.
