Cousin Kula have unveiled their second album, ‘Vitamin D’, out via Rhythm Section International.
The Bristol quintet – comprising Elliot Ellison (vocals, trumpet, guitar), Will Wells (keyboards, trombone), Douglas Cave (synths, flute), Jordan Woollgar (guitars), Joe Milkinson (drums) – released their debut full-length ‘Double Dinners’ in 2021, which explored the after-effects of heartbreak. ‘Vitamin D’ is the bloom of Spring: the soundtrack to greener pastures and the promise of new love, enlivened by sonic forays into psych-soul, funk and disco. This time the auditory experience is looser, smoother and more effulgent.
Rhythm section boss Bradley Zero intones, “I think it’s fair to say that the band have shaken off the collective cobwebs and are ready for a summer of love!”
Of the album experience, singer Elliot Ellison explains: “We really wanted this album to be playful and fun, not taking itself too seriously. Be representative of us as a group and the energy we have when just goofing around, for that to be something you feel in the music too. Lyrically it covers many themes but especially steps into “Happy Love Songs”, which feels like a new venture for us.”
“We explored more instrumentation on this album and stretched previously underused corners of our ability. Will and Elliot play trombone and trumpet on a few tunes, Doug plays flute on the whole album (and strangely, no saxophone!), and there’s a whole lot more percussion. It’s been fun experimenting with the vocals on this album too, we wanted to really lean into the ‘weird’. Likewise with the vocal harmonies, we wanted to make that feature of our sound even more of a thing on this album, like going a bit more sexy BeeGees on it.”
Listen to ‘Vitamin D’ here.
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Photo Credit: Hannah Rooke
