K2.0

K2.0.... An interesting title! "K2.0"... My take on this is that, the tiltle is really what this conception of music is really all about.. In so many ways it reminds me of the 1st K. But in a mature sense! The structures are all relivant to that fateful first full release. I fell in love with this band when K was first released, and I have eventually fallen in love with every release since. Peasants, was an immediate love. Strangefolk took me a while, but after a few listens it became one of my favorites, then the long wait again until Pilgrims came out and like Peasants I immediately fell in love with that album, and well then another long wait and this K2.0 comes out.. It took a few listens, but it has now risen to the top of my favorites...With each release since K, every album had something unexpected about it.. So now as this new one sinks in it too has some unexpected elements.. So anymore I expect to encounter something unexpectant from Kula:Shaker, it's what I love about Mr. Mills.. My only regret from Kula:Shaker is the long wait inbetween releases... But maybe that's why I love them so much because when something does come out It's like a new love affair! Thank you Kula, for all of this wonderful music you have gracefully given us... Keep the music alive... I think this is your best yet!

I found this to different in a good way. They mix it up in a way you wonder where the next song is going. It's fresh, different more than just worth the money. Will buy more of their music

Not their best- maybe their worst, but still worth owning. Wanted to love it as much as every other KS release and I like this more with each listen but some of the magic moments on each other album, to me, are missing. If I had to put my finger on it, Alonza Bevan's dreamy bass lines don't seem to present as in past.

Excellent. I Iove this band!

This album rocks!!! We have listened to this album pretty much every day since we received it. I swear Crispian Mills has put subliminal messages in the songs to make us keep wanting to hear it!

The Knights of the Cosmic round table return with .Another classic album. Kula Shaker were and are still the most spiritual band of all the Brit Pop groups and are probably among the best musicians..I highly recommend the gatefold mini lp.thanks

I was hooked on Kula Shaker from the beginning,and this album does not disappoint. Wonderful blending of modern rock, Eastern philosophic themes, new age lyrics and East Asian instruments.

Great album! The vinyl sounds good, the album art looks good in person, and the record slides easily (but not too easily) in and out of the jacket.

This is my first Kula Shaker record that I have bought since for me the let down that Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts for the most part was. I adored the million selling first K so much that this K2.0 title and the immense first single Infinite Sun pulled me right back in. Others might not agree but I personally think calling it K2.0 was an alright idea - not just has it got them deservedly back in the top 40 due it being a sequel to a massive selling 90s Britpop album (I'm one of the fans to be hooked back in) but although some of the songs are not in the same style as the first one they are all of such high quality with no weak tracks that it deserves to have the K follow up title. To be honest, this issue of it not being like the first K I half disagree and agree with anyway. Lead-off single Infinite Sun is K through and through while Here Come my Demons has brilliant dynamics and a rocking centre. Meanwhile the rocker Oh Mary like another reviewer remarked is similarly like the first K. In fact the usage of raga instrumentation is back again on this album so that is another comparison the original K. Although Get Right Get Ready is more in a catchy funk rock style it has enough of Britpop about it and once again the Indian instrumentation to help justify the album having a follow up title. Mountain Lifter while similarly maybe not being totally in the same style of K, like the previous track mentioned has the energy and feel good feeling of the debut too.In fact that is another reason why I feel the album being called K2.0 is fair enough because those 5 tracks are all rockers or with a rocking centre like the louder tracks throughout their debut. If anything being called K2.0 is fair enough too because the other tracks (and while I do agree that the mystical Hari Bol makes it six quieter tracks to the rocking 5) advance the original album - they are acoustic gems, there is no let up in the quality and because they balance out the louder tracks it makes for a more diverse and comprehensive listening experience compared to the first album. Anyway, it is twenty years on from the debut so they the band are hardly going to write a whole album in a rocking style because they have evolved and there has to be some maturity also.Holy Flame as well as being like another reviewer said like Blur's Coffee and TV reminds me also of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and also Paul Weller's Britpop albums. Death of Democracy is a catchy acoustic ditty too while I also really enjoy the Western sounding High Noon. But my favourites of the quieter songs have to be the Beatles-esque Love B (With U) and the even more melodic Bob Dylan/George Harrison-like 33 Crows which is also one of the best songs on the record.Record sales do not matter for this awesome, hugely underrated modern psychedelic band that is still in strong form twenty years on, but it was satisfying seeing Kula Shaker back in the top 40 for the first time since the 90s amongst a load of corporate, manufactured rubbish in all honesty. If you liked the first K there are enough louder tracks (5) to justify getting the album if your into that style but you also won't be disappointed by the more acoustic but excellent quieter tracks too. I know some fans love it but if like me you felt let down by Peasant, Pigs and Astronauts then there is nothing to worry about if you go for this as this is a much tighter album than that 2nd record. In fact not just only if you are a Britpop fan but if you like Oasis/The Beatles (especially the spiritual, raga rock material from George Harrison) or any psychedelic rock then you will probably thoroughly enjoy this record. The only reason I would have chosen four and a half stars if I could is because I still probably just about prefer the first K because I still slightly prefer the constant loud blast of Britrock throughout all its tracks and while all the tracks are excellent on this K2.0 with no filler it is the first song Infinite Sun that is simply mindblowing. However, Love B (With U), Here Come My Demons, 33 Crows, Oh Mary, Get Right Get Ready and Mountain Lifter are all excellent standouts too it is just for me the first track is one of the finest songs ever written to my ears (and I'm honestly not embellishing my opinion with that statement I love it that much). So yes that is another thing I would not agree with to a fair extent is that there are no songs on here that are of the same quality as the top K tracks. Overall, while I do still think K is still the benchmark for Kula Shaker albums, this is very nearly almost as brilliant and with its maturity gained from Strangefolk and Pilgrim's Progress I believe it is a more complete and varied K.

this new album has, to my ears at least, influences from the likes of such great artists as Beatles, Dylan, Crowded House, Early Coldplay (when they were good) & even Lyndsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac to name just a few! Just as I was getting into The first two albums in the late 90's the band announced their split leaving me pretty disappointed! The next couple of albums passed me by, but now they're back with a new clutch of killer tunes! Saw them last week in Bath and bought the album straight away and booked tickets for their last UK show before they leave for Europe! Stand out tracks for me: let love b with u, here come my demons, 33 crows, holy flame, oh Mary, mountain lifter... but in honesty, there's not a bad track here. Top album!!

Though it's entitled K 2.0, this album seems to make a musical nod to all four previous albums, but it's great in its own right as well. As a long-time Kula Shaker fan, I was not disappointed. Stand-out tracks for me include 'Love B with U' (I loved the chorus bassline instantly), 'Infinite Sun' (sounds pleasingly familiar) and 'Mountain Lifter', which is surprisingly catchy and contains a sample from 'Timeworm', if I am not mistaken. Crispian's voice sounds beautiful on 'High Noon', which reminds me of his work with The Jeevas. This album fits nicely with the others but is also distinctly fresh in tone. I think it'll please Kula Shaker fans and hopefully get some new listeners on board too.

Browsing on Amazon I spotted this gem!! Haven't heard from Kula Shaker since the 90's,thought they'd gone to India to find spirituality!! Love this album it is really stunning.Well crafted songs,great lyrics.Love the epic Here come my Demons,great tempo change on this track,the beautiful Dylanesque,33 Crows.High Noon wouldn't sound out of place on a Chris Isaak album.There's even some Funk on here!!! The album closer,Mountain Lifter is another epic tune.I'm really really impressed with this album.Nice one Kula Shaker,great to have discovered you again.Thanks! Oh! almost forgot, excellent production.K2.O sounds awesome,especially when played loud!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully many more (proper) music lovers will discover Kula Shaker and appreciate this new collection of superb songs. Crispian Mills is a true ingenious songwriter who carries on the Kula Shaker story. Can we believe that the first No. 1 "K" album is 20 years old on the 16 September this year. K2.0 may not have the rocking power of the original but the wealth of musical styles and sounds on the new album, produces listening journeys of an intensely new and different form. After the Strangefolk album of 2007 and the impressive Pilgrims Progress from 2010 the band have now created another classic as they return once again to please all their loyal fans. Who can wait for next month's tour ? Other current music is lifeless in its dullness but here Kula Shaker show quite clearly how to produce modern day classic songs of wonder and brilliance. Buy the album and continue with the magical journey...