Is it 1996 again? Good god no.
Of all of the Britpop bands, Kula Shaker suffered the most at the scene's demise in 1998. Their Indian fused indie sound was such that they could only exist in that age of national pride and lad culture. Times changed; Kula Shaker split. And now they are back.
You know what - they sound exactly as you would expect. "Out Of The Highway" does not so much convey a band stuck in the past as a group of people who have have evolved by joining the dots on a pre-drawn picture. There's nothing wrong with "Out On The Highway" per se, but there's not a not right with it either. So the bass now sounds a bit deeper and more focused and glitter has been poured into the mixing desk to give the overall sound a boost, but as soon as you hear Crispian Mills weedy vocals you know that its onto a loser.
"Out On The Highway" fails to act as a contemporary of modern indie and, moreover, fails to reignite our nostalgic excitement of a band who, ten years ago, could make people switch on and turn up. A shame certainly, but not nearly a surprise.