The Kula Shakers level up (and quote “Stranger Things”)
The new album by Kula Shaker it came out recently (we anticipated it here), but the surprises aren’t over. A few hours ago the band released the video of the title track “Wormslayer”: a nine-minute short film (complete with final credits) that expands the visual and conceptual universe of the song by mixing fantasy, anime – and a pinch of “Stranger Things“.
The reference to the Duffer Brothers TV series is evident from the beginning, when a group of boys enters the shop and finds the Sorcererthe sorcerer of Dungeons & Dragonsthe fantasy role-playing game also featured in “Strangers Things”. A narrative universe that expands further when the short is transformed into an anime, a Japanese cartoon. It’s the same Crispian Millsthe frontman, to confirm the sources of inspiration in addition to D&D: “The Goonies, Scooby Doo, Stranger Things, The Lord of the Rings and He-Man”.
The film follows the line already traced by the previous “Good Money” and was co-directed by Mills together with Laurie Peters, confirming the band’s authorial approach also on a visual level. According to Crispian Mills, “Wormslayer” exploits the symbolic language of mythology to tell a story a deeply current and personal topic:
I say that Wormslayer it’s about killing dragons – ‘worm’ was a derogatory term for dragons back in the day – but it’s really about surviving abuse. Whether it’s abuse from a partner, a boss, or your government; anyone who has been drained by spiritual vampires knows what I’m talking about.
At the center of the song, therefore, are the toxic and manipulative dynamics, described as a form of emotional and spiritual parasitism.
Narcissists, sociopaths: they are parasites. They undermine, devour, gaslight, prey on innocence, and exploit the best of intentions; they create chaos and confusion, while presenting themselves as beacons of virtue. If that’s not demonic, I don’t know what is. Much of Wormslayer it’s about how to survive it all: rejecting their misery and their fictitious matrix, cultivating a deeper sense of Self and a higher love, wherever that search takes you.
A vision so profound that it had to be accompanied by a video worthy of it – and this mix of fantasy, pop culture and psychedelia it certainly is. According to Mills, the result is consistent with the spirit of the song and cathartic from an emotional point of view.
It turned out as good as the record and was suitably liberating: facing all those demons, freeing the goddess and killing that big slimy worm. Many of us have self-esteem issues, which affect our ability to give and receive love. It’s probably the main reason why the world is so messed up. But there comes a time when you can choose your own path, and ‘killing the worm’ is a very deep and personal matter.
