The astral-travelling gatecrashers of Britpop, Kula Shaker found themselves cast into near-oblivion after ill-advised flirtations with right-wing imagery. Hit singles in Sanskrit also, bafflingly, fell out of vogue. Crispian Mills reconvened the band last year and, thrilled by the "energy", they return with what is, surprisingly, only their third album. They haven't downsized: the rock is (well played) bog-standard retro, but themes cover Guantanamo and the afterlife. Amid the Dylan raps and Yardbirds licks (and if The Charlatans made this, they'd be garlanded) there's a welcome sense that they're smartly chuckling at themselves.

Chris Roberts

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