Ever have one of those moments when someone recommends a band to you and you take a long time to check them out, but when you do you’re just floored with how great it is and you get mad at yourself for taking so long to listen to something so wonderful? Well, that’s what happened to me this week. Back in August the band Kula emailed me as they were releasing their second release, ‘Kula Vol. 2′. They described themselves to me as an independent band based in LA focusing on rock that blends “progressive soul-grunge with punch-drunk psychedelia in an indie afro-punk cocktail”. At first that description sounded very complex to me, but trust me when I tell you that the moment you hear the lead off track on this LP it all becomes crystal clear.
KULA is Liz Jeanette on vocals, Eric Fortier on bass, Mike Wendland on guitar and Ameenah Kaplan on drums. As taken from their website:
Jeanette and Fortier met in Los Angeles in the summer of 2011, both playing with the group Your Dads Kids for a year until dismantling in the summer of 2012. The two continued to write songs, and were soon joined by drummer Ameenah Kaplan and guitarist Mike Wendland to complete the line-up of KULA.
This experienced foursome comes together after having played with a wide variety of artists including Rihanna, Adam Lambert, Ty Taylor, Macy Gray, Brenda Lee Eager, and Isiah “Ikey” Owens. The resulting sound of this unique foursome is a blend of rock and soul with progressive compositions, innovative rhythms and tasteful obscurity.
This experience plays really well into their sound which speaks to that varied genre description I mentioned prior. Musically, this group is so tight it’s a thing of beauty when you listen to it come together and Liz on vocals is just fantastic. She has such control of her range and space that she can go from filling the room with her power to a gentle whisper in your ear.
Mixed and mastered at Beer City Studios in sunny Van Nuys, CA by Mike Wendland and KULA the album is, as I mentioned, really tight. The lead of track, Molasses, is powerful and gives you a taste of what your in store for from the album as a whole. I should point out that Kula just did a live video for this song for the NPR Small Desk Contest. I’ll embed it along with the album at the end of the post.
I have to say that all seven (7) tracks on this release are solid,but for me some of the stand outs on the release are the powerful lead off track Molasses, which I mentioned previously. Drone, which really harkens back to the awesome hard rock, grunge style from the mid to late 90′s in a really great and balanced way. Lastly, the stunning track, Dawn. This song really shows the range of Liz as a singer. Musically, the song is equal parts beautiful, gentle and powerful.
You absolutely need to give this one a listen, especially if rock is a style you love to listen to. You can stream the album below and check out the video I mentioned previously. Thank you to the band for emailing me many months ago to check out your latest release. I am very happy to say that I am a fan.
Website: http://www.kulaband.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KULASONGS
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kulabandla/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kulaband
Bandcamp: https://kula.bandcamp.com
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1THK7vn
iTunes: https://itun.es/us/3qWa9
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kulaband
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