The Kooks - Junk Of The Heart

The happy-go-lucky Kooks are back with their third album and here's what I thought of it:

In that sunny paradise of 2006, The Kooks were at the head of everyone’s summer playlist. ‘Seaside’ slowly strumming on the shore, ‘Naïve’ at your house party and ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’ sung along in that balmy July sunshine. Luke Pritchard’s drone and his band’s bright pop were an essential part of any teenagers’ MP3 players. But five years on, how do The Kooks fit in?

Well, pretty much where they left off to be fair. New album ‘Junk Of The Heart’ doesn’t deviate much from the styling’s of debut album ‘Inside In Inside Out’ and more mature follow-up ‘Konk’; it’s the same simple and smiley guitar pop, and whereas they don’t exactly reinvent the wheel, it’s a welcome reminder of how damn catchy the Brighton four-piece can be.

‘Take A Picture Of You’ is a prime example. Lazy acoustic guitars with that ‘Seaside’ vibe, a lyric loaded with sentimentality (Each time I close me eyes/I can feel you is just a snippet) and a gently soaring chorus complete a simple but instantly lovable indie pop track. It’s what The Kooks do best; just have a listen to the bouncing happiness of opener ‘Junk Of The Heart (Happy), the plush ‘How’d You Like That’ or cheery first single ‘Is It Me?’.

There are genuine attempts to grow slightly. ‘Fuck The World Off’ is of a moodier ilk, almost country in style, while the electro-bobbing ‘Runaway’ and orchestral wonder ‘Time Above The Earth’ show a different side to The Kooks. But for these small and often cute experiments; they still pack their punch with the indie love songs, even if there is enough schmultz to gag a teddy bear.

‘Petulia’ is a sombre and almost medieval acoustic strum, ‘Killing Me’ is a loose and languid tale of a special lover (It’s killing me/The thing that you can do/That no one else can do to me at all – no lyrical surprises here) and ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ is a more industrial and beat driven closer. The best of decent bunch comes in ‘Eskimo Kiss’, evolving from up-beat twangy folk to a rousing ‘la, la, la’ sing-along.

2011 is a vastly different arena to that of 2006, it’s no longer indie sunshine and bliss, but no-one’s told The Kooks about that. Although it’s not as good as their first two efforts, Luke Pritchard still knows how to write sweet hooking melodies and ‘Junk Of The Heart’ has enough cheery summer tunes to seal a solid return.

Worth a listen for sure, and here's my favourite track 'Taking Pictures Of You'.

NWR