THE KOOKS - 10 TRACKS TO ECHO IN THE DARK
It's unusual that within the first spin of the first track on a sixth album that the listener's instinctive feeling is surprise. Is it familiar? Have you heard it before? If one didn't know, would they guess who it was? If the answer to all the above is no, then it's likely you're listening to The Kooks.
The band's latest release, 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark, emerged as a result of pandemic-driven frustration and time spent by the Brighton three-piece in Berlin, where the bulk of the album was recorded.
The obvious influence of electro-pop here ignites an untapped spark in the band's potential. Within seconds of track one, titled 'Connection', it's evident that this record is veering away from definite indie, and into pastures new. Catchy and fresh, it is an excellent opener and immersion into The Kooks, circa 2022.
Stand out track 'Closer' sounds as though it was birthed with performance on a festival stage in mind. Though the lyrics can verge toward surface level, a means to an end perhaps, it is the energy of a Kooks song which brings it to life. Practiced at their craft, they encapsulate the feel of summer through sound in a way that few of their peers can contend with.
The tone of this album is reminiscent of MGMT's triumph Oracular Spectacular. The similarity is especially apparent in the rasping synth of track five's 'Sailing on a Dream'. Lyrically decent and rhythmically decadent, it's The Kooks at their very best. On 'Beautiful World', Luke Pritchard, with his voice so recognisable to the 'Naïve' generation, boasts of having all he needs to be content. He speculates that what he possesses is "Guaranteed to make you feel better", and this is the unwritten Kooks manifesto - their music, for lack of a more sophisticated term, feels incandescently happy.
'Oasis' opens with an electrified sample of INXS's timeless ‘Need You Tonight’, a welcome touch of nostalgia amongst the firmly modern sounds of this album. It plays out as an infectious pop-indie amalgamation, and while over before it has begun at just 1:52 track length, it is thoroughly enjoyable.
By track 9, the Kooks-ness of it all has become a touch repetitive - pop melody, indie lyrics, dance dance dance. It works, but this song is probably its weakest outing thus far. Thus, when the album closer ‘Without a Doubt’ strums to steady life acapella, it's a breath of fresh air. It would be hard to slate the simplicity of the song, and it's love letter lyrics - "Without a doubt, you're the best thing in my life, without a doubt, you're the only one keeping me right". It's a love song, it's short, it's sweet, it's beautiful.
Nearly twenty years into their career, to craft something as new for themselves as it is for us, The Kooks have both excelled and exceeded. Forging a path forward for themselves as still being a great band, and reinventing their sound in one swoop is no easy feat, yet here it is managed with the easy coolness of a group who know exactly what they're doing. 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark is the sound of a summer to come, one set to be much brighter than that which came before.
Hannah Foster
★★★★★