Artist: Kooks, The
Label: Virgin Records
Released: 2011
Rating: 3/5
The name The Kooks brings to mind a sound familiar from the band’s debut, »Inside In / Inside Out«. With their idea of marrying the British flavor of rock with rocksteady, The Kooks broke new ground on the scene back then and let some fresh air into the pale English scene. They earned their spot with that signature sound and Pitchard’s voice, which gave their colorful arrangements just the right dose of adolescent edge.
Sadly, listeners don’t get that same feeling on “Junk of the Heart”. The turbulent period around the second album awkwardly bleeds into their third attempt; Pitchard himself admitted that the band ran into trouble right at the start of the creative process. Lineup changes made their situation even harder, and the end result of this pile-up of unfortunate circumstances is the anti-cathartic “Junk of the Heart”. The album title somehow ties into the members’ personal troubles and serves as the common thread, in more ways than one, of course.
The record opens with the title track, Junk of the Heart (Happy), which shoves The Kooks’ new direction in your face from the very first notes; the use of so-called samples and atmospheric keyboards is pretty uncharacteristic for the band, but together with Pritchard’s vocals it conjures up a pale, nostalgic feeling with a slight undertone of carefreeness. From a production standpoint the approach is interesting and well executed, you could almost say it’s in step with the times. As a result, the album carries a few songs that are tailor-made for radio stations: just the right safe amount of electronic elements, catchy melodies and rock touches.
The album’s split structure points to an almost bipolar divide within the band; the first five tracks carry strong shades of the band’s popularized side, while the rest recycles old arrangement formulas. As a result, the flow of the record is clumsy, and the common thread gets lost in forced arrangements, such as Fuck the World Off, Runaway, and Killing me. These are the songs where The Kooks’ inner split really floats to the surface. The songwriting is completely transparent, practically an end in itself, almost like the sound. Sure, the record is very well recorded by modern standards, but it still lacks that little bit of color, flavor, a sense of added value. Still, songs like Is it Me?, How’d You Like That? and Rosie rescue the band’s faded image. Sadly, The Kooks offer creative variety born on their first record.
The Kooks’ third album steps in line with the times, both in terms of production and creative value. Sadly, though, the band’s image, once one of the more colorful acts on the English brit-indie rock scene, fades with “Junk of the Heart”. The record is tailor-made as a radio companion for a drive along seaside serpentine roads, but it struggles to get under your skin.
Lineup
Luke Pritchard – vocals, guitar
Hugh Harris – guitar
Peter Denton – bass guitar
Paul Garred – drums
Production
Tony Hoffer
Track list
1.Junk of the Heart (Happy) (3:07)
2.How’d You Like That (3:14)
3.Rosie (3:10)
4.Taking Pictures of You (2:42)
5.Fuck the World Off (2:52)
6.Time Above the Earth (1:54)
7.Runaway (3:00)
8.Is It Me (3:30)
9.Killing Me (3:25)
10.Petulia (2:42)
11.Eskimo Kiss (3:34)
12.Mr. Nice Guy (2:40)
