As retro as they’ve always been – with a possible exception of their futuristic sophomore effort, 1999’s “Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts” – KULA SHAKER don’t mind casting an eye into the next year and set January 30th, 2026 as the release date of the band’s new album. Titled “Wormslayer” and picking up where “Natural Magick” left off in 2024, it has all the chances to bring the Brits even closer to the spotlight they basked in back in mid-’90s.
Neal Smith‘s involvement in his old ensemble’s new offering doesn’t mean the drummer has ceased to pursue his individual endeavors. It’s been for years that the veteran recorded albums using a KillSmith persona – such as 2014’s rock opera "KillSmith & The Greenfire Empire" and country-driven "KillSmith Goes West" from 2023 – and he’s just issued a new one in this series.
Their latest reunion is yet to produce a sequel to 2022’s “Happiness Not Included” – other than this album’s extended version from 2024, that is – but SOFT CELL have no reason to complain, what with the duo’s release of the “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret” box set two years ago and “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret …And Other Stories: Live” concert document last year. More so, October 31st will see the issue of another multi-disc collection, one which focused on the band’s sophomore offering, “The Art Of Falling Apart” from 1983.
Multitudes who spend their evenings riveted to TV screens may associate Nick Jameson’s face with the roles he played in “24” and “Lost” series, and those who love old video games may recognize the American artist’s voice from “Full Throttle” and “Day Of The Tentacle” – but for all the popularity of these perennials, his claim to fame, if not fortune, and to creative immortality lies elsewhere. Before he turned into an actor, Jameson used to be a record producer of some renown, known to many by the studio wizardry he applied to classic FOGHAT albums. Among those was the evergreen “Fool For The City” on which Nick also played bass, so his four-string pulse on “Slow Ride” is familiar to a lot of regular listeners and “Guitar Hero” fans. This conversation has long been overdue, then.
One of NEKTAR‘s most enduring classics, 1972’s "A Tab In The Ocean" was the album that set a template for the likes of "Remember The Future" in terms of epic scope, yet its importance is best measured in shorter pieces: “Desolation Valley” which became a staple of the British band’s concert repertoire, and “King of Twilight” which IRON MAIDEN covered on one of their singles. It saw quite a few reissues over the years, but a box set the record’s turning into on November 28th might become a definitive package.
