Junk of the art

Album: Junk Of The Heart
Artist: The Kooks
Label: Virgin
Release date: 12 September, 2011
Peak chart position/sales: 


RATING: 2.5/5 stars.


By all rights, The Kooks should be 'my' kind of band. A Brit-pop band inspired by the 1960s 'British Invasion' music (including the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who and just about every other band I love to pieces) should, theoretically, already be on my iPod. So I leapt at the chance to listen to Junk Of The Heart, The Kooks' third studio album and acquaint myself with a band that I hadn't fully explored yet.

But what strikes you first about Junk is the complete...unremarkability of it all. Now, The Kooks were never out to reinvent music and that's no crime, but this album is just so boring. Can I say that again? So. freaking. boring. An inexperienced grab at a wonderful vibe, smothered in monotony and poorly plagiarised material, poured into a shiny plastic casing and presented to us by a band whose very name should have alerted us to the fact that they have no originality. Don't get me wrong, technically speaking they're doing all the right things. There are funky bass riffs, clanging guitar chords and happy-go-lucky harmonised choruses all round. But there is nothing that is particularly "Kooks".

After the somewhat seedy title track, and an awful lot of forgettable filler tracks, "Eskimo Kiss" and "Mr. Nice Guy" redeem the album slightly with happily catchy and energetic though no less produced tunes. iTunes bonus track The Saboteur is also a pleasant surprise, delivering a heavy, dangerous piece that treads the line of grunge and shows traces of *gasps* originality. Trying to prove they have something worth saying, the band throws some profanity into the mix with "F**k The World Off" - a curiously passive-aggressive song that only comes off as a misguided stab at bravado. Meanwhile, "How'd You Like That" channels The Kinks quite successfully - at least more successfully than their Beatles attempts. And there are so many of those it's cringeworthy.

"Don't believe in things that don't believe in you /All the things that you do will come back on you" vocalist Luke Pritchard sings with Lennon-esque world-weary - but unconvincing - wisdom and Petulia sounds so blatantly but pathetically like Julia that my jaw dropped. Not to mention the countless rhythms and riffs that could have been plucked from almost any Beatles album. There is such a thing as a respectful tribute to your influences, but this is just plain lazy.

It's disappointing to admit, but The Kooks are still the cheap Brit-pop substitute for the schoolgirls of today who want slightly updated boy-next-door pop. Yeah, the songs are nice to listen to...once. But  nothing compels you to come back for more, unless you're driving with the sun-roof open and need some peppy background music to not pay attention to. It's just impossible to shake the feeling that these are amateur song-writers trying desperately and clumsily to emulate their heroes. And in the end, they don't even hold a candle up to them.

Is it worth my $$$? - If you're a Kooks fan, you'll be thrilled to hear they've produced more of the same stuff you fell in love with in the first place. But otherwise...get some REAL '60s into ya.


Listen to: Eskimo Kiss, Mr. Nice Guy, How'd You Like That