Net Music Review

Konk - The Kooks

The Kooks are one of those bands that seem to divide opinion, one the one hand there are those that say they're just a manufactured stage school band while on the other there are those that are drawn to the breezy nature of their music. While it is true that Pritchard went to stage school with Katie Melua and Leona Lewis it would be unfair to The Kooks to dismiss them out of hand, they're hardly a manufactured band in the sense that Girls Aloud or Westlife are!

Their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out was a bit of a slow burner to start with until Naïve was released as a single, a catchy song with a sing-a-long chorus, which propelled them into the mainstream. With the follow up, Konk, The Kooks have opted to stick to what they know best and Naïve seems to be the template from which they are working.

Opening with See The Sun the albums starts off in typical Kooks fashion, tunes, melodies and hooks that grab your attention. It is clear that this isn't just Luke Pritchard and support, lead guitarist Hugh Harris has clearly matured and his leads compliment the song well, indeed it almost has a Razorlight feel to it. The lead single from Konk, Always Where I Need To Be is another slice of pop-rock from a band that seem to have found their niche in the market. They may never win prizes for being the coolest band on the planet or for song writing but they do have an uncanny ear for a tune.

While the is nothing as caustic as You Don't Love Me on Konk (A shame, in my mind the highlight of Inside In/Inside Out) the closest they come to that is the rocky Do You Wanna. It isn't all sweetness and light though, the album doesn't offer up much variety, and does in places fall into the trap of simply sounding like Inside In/Inside Out 2. Other highlights on the album include the heavily sixties influenced Shine On where Hugh Harris' guitar sets the song on fire and has summer festival anthem written all over it and the frantic Down To The Market. The albums finishes off in sombre style, well for The Kooks anyway with One Last Time and Tick Of Time.

Let's face it, people will always want to take a pot stop at The Kooks, partly because of their stage school beginnings and party because of their seemingly holier than thou attitude and while that may be true, Konk isn't that bad. Take it at face value for what it is, three minute slices of throwaway guitar pop, but nothing else.