1st Congregational Church Of Eternal Love And Free Hugs

ブリットポップ創世記の最重要バンド=クーラ・シェイカー 華麗なる再始動を高らかに告げる待望の新作『1st Congregational Church Of Eternal Love And Free Hugs!』サマーソニック2022出演決定!

祝!サマーソニック2022出演決定!
UKロックとインド音楽をブレンドした唯一無二のサイケデリック・ロックを鳴らす、クリスピアン・ミルズ(vo,g)を中心とするクーラ・シェイカーが放つ6年ぶり、6作目となる待望のニュー・アルバム『ファースト・コングリゲイショナル・チャーチ・オブ・エターナル・ラヴ・アンド・フリー・ハグス』。ブリットポップ全盛期の96年、デビュー作『K』がUKチャートで2週連続1位に輝き、当時「オアシス以来のデビュー・アルバム最速売上」を記録、イギリスでダブル・プラチナ、日本でもプラチナ・セールスに。99年2ndアルバム発売後に一旦解散するも2006年に再結成、同年夏のフジロック・フェスティバル来日時は入場規制がかかるほど熱狂的に迎えられた。2016年、デビュー作『K』発売から20年、再結成から10年にあたる記念すべき5thアルバム『K 2.0』をリリース。
前作に続き6年ぶりとなる本作は、正義と悪、堕落と救済、愛と恐怖などを、インタールードを含め計20曲で紡ぐ壮大なコンセプト・アルバム。サウンド面では王道ブリティッシュ・ロック、カントリー、ブルース、アシッド・フォークなどバンド史上最も多彩なサウンドを披露しつつ、彼らのトレードマークといえる煌びやかなギターリフと神秘性に満ちたメロディーが織りなす正にクーラ・シェイカーとしか言いようのないサウンドは健在であり、往年のファン歓喜間違い無しの作品となっている。

Englands Kula Shaker brought swaggering, Eastern-influenced psychedelia back to the pop scene in the late 90s before parting ways after three albums. Since reuniting in 2006, the group led by singer/guitarist Crispian Mills has worked steadily, further expanding their imaginatively widescreen psych-rock sound, which they bring to vibrant color on their sixth studio album, 2022s 1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love (And Free Hugs). An ambitious two-LP concept album, its everything you could want from Kula Shaker; bringing together all of their rock influences and pop quirks into one kaleidoscopic epic, it draws upon the Beatles, the Who, and the Kinks in equal measure. While those influences are there, Kula Shaker have matured into their own sound, and Mills delivers a bevy of hooky, philosophically insightful, and often moving anthems that speak to the troubled state of the world. This vibe is perhaps best expressed on the wry "Whatever It Is (Im Against It)," a bluesy, fuzz-tone rocker in the snarky, tongue-in-cheek John Lennon tradition, in which Mills embodies the stubborn political and social obstinance that seems to permeate modern society. He sings, "Your proposition may be good/But lets have one thing understood/Im against it!" They also punctuate the album throughout with sound bites from a theatrical realized church service that works to underscore their often satirical critique of society. Theres a sense that Kula Shaker are evoking the memory of not just the swinging, psychedelic England of the 1960s and 70s, but an older, even more ancestral England of legend. Its a vibe they conjure on the sweeping, Pink Floyd-sounding "The Once and Future King" and one that takes on ever more magical, acid-soaked symbolism on the infectious "Gingerbread Man," the latter of which finds them reframing the classic folk tale as metaphor for transcending spiritual and social boundaries. Elsewhere, on the folky, Bob Dylanesque "Where Have All the Brave Knights Gone," Mills decries the loss of a wilder, more courageous past, singing "Come back all ye wild men/Come back home and see/Whats become of you, my friend/Whats become of me." A lot of rock bands peak early, but Kula Shaker have gotten better with age and time, something that makes 1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love (And Free Hugs) a kind of revelatory experience. Rather than drawing upon the past as a way to reinforce immovable traditional values, Kula Shaker transform Englands fabled history into an emblem of fearless, chivalric, openhearted love. ~ Matt Collar