The Kooks’ “Junk of the Heart” is junk

By Jake Mahr
Theme Editor

The biggest challenge a UK rock band often faces is the crossover to American audiences. These acts tend to find themselves with small gigs in theaters, rather than arenas but there are always exceptions.

The Kooks, a group of Brighton rockers, are one of the biggest American breakthroughs in recent years, yet their new album, “Junk of the Heart”, which they had three years to make, while not terrible, unfortunately has a sense of familiarity to their other albums. The songs that stand out occur during experimental bits, but excluding these moments, the album was nothing new for The Kooks.

The band, formed by Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Paul Garred (drums) and Max Rafferty (bass guitar,) gained rapid attention in both the UK and America after releasing their debut album, “Inside In/Inside Out”, in 2006. The album sold over 50,000 copies and the group completed their first US tour shortly after its release.

Their second album, “Konk”, released in 2008, came with a change in the band line-up. Max Rafferty had to leave due to an illness and was replaced by Peter Denton who has been with the band since October 2008.

The Kooks’ music is largely based off of the 1960s British Invasion movement. A time when a large number of UK rock bands became popular in the United States. This style is often portrayed along with the band’s own sunny and melodic incorporations which are largely portrayed by Luke Pritchard’s easygoing voice. Some of the most successful singles the band has produced are “Naïve” and “Always Where I Need To Be”.

“Junk of the Hearts”’ lead single, “Is It Me,” and the title track, sound as if they were destined to be played on the radio. They are filled with catchy rhythms, strong lyrics and choruses and cheerful guitar pieces, but this is nothing new for The Kooks. These same aspects can be found on the first two albums and there is little two distinguish this album apart from the others.

During the middle of the album, the band tries to experiment by using string instruments in “Time Above the Earth,” and fiddling with some synth-pop on “Runaway.” These songs are the most original on the album. Unfortunately, the ten other songs in the album drown out the creativity that The Kooks showed in these two songs.

Junk of the Heart is an enjoyable album, but a disappointment due to the fact that the lack of musical ingenuity put into it. None of the songs are all that creative nor could they be the product of three years hard work. There is very little drive in the album and The Kooks failed to reach their full potential.

One thing that is portrayed well in the album is the truthfulness their songs usually contain. Although all of the songs have different backgrounds and meanings, the band never leaves anything out. No matter what the message is; they always make sure they let everyone know how they feel.

In all fairness, The Kooks are a successful band with a large group of devoted fans. They are making music in order to be influences in the pop world, but they are not trying to reinvent the wheel or go outside the box of the musical world. Junk of the Heart, was merely that, nothing spectacular, but enjoyable background music. The album, which was released on September 12, is now on sale digitally, in vinyl and CD at most music retailers.