Album Review: The Kooks – ‘Junk Of The Heart’

The Kooks just aren't that 'kooky' anymore

Most people still regard [a]The Kooks[/a] as a kind of shrink-wrapped [a]Libertines[/a] for pre-teens: The Libertweenies, if you will. This is harsh, especially when you consider even Johnny bloody Borrell was accusing them of being shameless careerists. Still, the poor reception that greeted ‘Konk’ way back in 2008 would seem to suggest that the mud stuck. Add this to the fact that their young audience are now much older, and you can understand why they felt it would be wise to disappear for a bit and “mature”. A shame, then, that this growth amounts to that most clichéd of indie tactics: the drums are now a little bit processed and there are keyboard “atmospherics” in the background, all of which, naturally, are superfluous. However, ‘How’d You Like That’, ‘Is It Me’ and several others demonstrate that Luke Pritchard still possesses a pretty undeniable ear for a melody. But there’s just an unavoidable sense here of a band who aren’t quite sure what their purpose is anymore.

Are [a]The Kooks[/a] any good anymore? Form your own opinion by listening to one of the few (apparently) good tracks on the album (‘Is It Me‘) below:

Hamish MacBain

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