I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS

...we've got the means to make amends. I am lost, I'm no guide, but I'm by your side. (Pearl Jam, Leash)

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Straight outta Brighton: The Kooks

Following fast in the relative footsteps of groups like The Coral, whom I quite liked from last summer, The Kooks are 4 young guys from scenic beachtown of Brighton, England. My friend Chris from Manchester included them on a recent mix for me and they caught my ear.

Sportin' that same fancy-pants accent that regularly propels British bands (especially ones whose names start with "The" lately) to moderate success stateside, The Kooks are fun jump-around listening for summer, with a bit more acoustic pop sound than some of the punk/new-wave bands preceding them of late. Pitchfork likens them to "the straightforward dynamism of I Should Coco-era Supergrass," and Drowned in Sound says, "What they do is take girls and seaside and . . . well, that's all you need really isn't it?"

Their debut album Inside In/Inside Out has reached #3 on the UK charts (and doesn't appear to be released yet in the US). Take a listen, I am sure you'll be hearing more from these boys 'round these parts; they're in the news today as the Rolling Stones just tapped them to open their Cardiff show.

Naive - The Kooks

Sofa Song - The Kooks

California - The Kooks (Wow! A Mason Jennings cover! Better than the original? It's a song that wants to rock)

"Crazy" - The Kooks (Gnarls Barkley cover, Live Lounge 3/30/06)

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8 Comments:

At June 17, 2006 4:39 PM, Blogger Gamer C. said...

They're not bad at all. I was expecting them to be like the Strokes or Franz Ferdinand but they sound different to me. I'll be watching for them.

 
At June 17, 2006 10:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did you know "California" is a Mason Jennings cover?

 
At June 17, 2006 11:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

they do sound alright . . . unnecessary use of whom.

 
At June 17, 2006 11:49 PM, Blogger heather said...

I do now! I found that/posted it up after listening to the first few bars before heading out for the evening, so I hadn't realized. Rad.

 
At June 18, 2006 4:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

They've really broken into the mainstream over the last 6 months here but I'm still thinking they only have two good songs - Naive and Eddie's Gun. Maybe I'm being silly.

 
At June 18, 2006 12:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

H

Thanks for the name check.

Glad you liked The Kooks, I disagree with Mr K - try 'ooh la' and 'she moves in her own way' both good summery pop.

Chris from Tottington

 
At June 20, 2006 4:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i really dug the album, esp since Eddie's Gun is probably one of the singles of the year (even though it was out last year in Britain) in my books. Thanks for California!

 
At July 25, 2006 1:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i love the kooks and have been a fan for ever!!!!!!if u r still not in to them much listen to 'matchbox' and 'timr awaits', absolutley brilliant tracks!

 

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