Background information:
The Kooks originate from Brighton and formed at the “Brighton Institute of Modern music” where they all studied. The band is made up of 4 members:
· Luke Pritchard – vocals and guitar
· Hugh Harris – backup vocals and guitar
· Max Rafferty – bass
· Paul Garred – drums

This album “Inside in/inside out” was released in January 2006

***Track by Track:***
1. Seaside -
The album begins with an acoustic and the lead singer only. It's a very mellow song and sounds very raw. It's a short track (around a minute and a half long) and a nice introduction to the album.
7/10

2. See The World -
This song is a complete contrast to the first song, with loud guitar's, heavy drums and the lead singer Luke Pritchard singing at his best. It's a fast and catchy song that'll have you singing out-loud and playing it at the top volume.
8/10

3. Sofa Song -
This is another catchy song that'll have u singing along. It was released last year although I must admit I do not recall hearing it before I bought the album. It's quite a good track but definitely not the best on the album.
7.5/10

4. Eddie's Gun - This is another short track but get's you singing along all the same.
7.5/10

5. Ooh La -
I love this song-from the beginning, with the strumming of the guitar, right through to the end. It's a song that'll definitely have you singing along. The song is written about a woman (apparently Luke Pritchard, the lead-singer's ex-girlfriend Katie Melua) and about the pressures and drawbacks of fame. He is warning her:
"And don't be a star, it's such a drag
Take care of yourself, don't begin to lag
It's a hard life to live, so live it well
I'll be your friend and not in pretend
I know you girl
In all situations"
It's a very well written song-from the melody, the lyrics and the use of instrumentation.
8.5/10

6. You Don't Love Me –
This will have your jumping around from the word go. A good song which has Luke Pritchard singing “You don’t love me the way that I love you” well by now I’m sure many people would disagree with that statement after so many good songs and his raw vocal talent.
7.5/10

7. She Moves In Her Own Way –
I’m sure you’ll all be very aware of this song after it’s huge amount of airplay last year. I LOVE this song, it’s so relaxing, summery and easy to singalong to (when you work out the words that is) This is the first song I’d heard of by The Kooks and I instantly loved it. It remind me of chilling on the beach last summer in Swansea after doing my A levels. One of the best on the album in my opinion, showing signs of a 60’s influence which you can imagine relaxing and playing on the beach to.
9.5/10

8. Matchbox –
"All of us, we're going out tonight, We're gonna walk all over your cars, The Kooks are out in the streets, Oh were gonna steal your signs".
These are the lyrics of the oh-so-catchy chorus. As you can tell this is quite a tongue in cheek song and although the lyrics aren’t great the tun more than makes up for it!
8/10

9. Naïve –
This song is possibly my favourite on the album-it’s a definite toss up between this and “she moves in her own way” and I find it impossible to decide as they’re both amazing in different ways. This song is about his girlfriend cheating on him (why would she with his musical talent?!) and talks about how someone so innocent and pretty could do something so ugly. I think it’s really well written and combined with an excellent tune and good use of instrumentation makes it very effective.
“I'm not saying it was your fault
Although you could have done more

Oh you're so naive yet so

How could this be done
Your such a smiling sweetheart
Oh and your sweet and pretty face
In such an ugly way
Something so beautiful
That everytime I look inside”
9.5/10

10. I Want You Back –
Don’t worry this is not a Jackson 5 cover of the classic-I don’t think anyone could touch that song-especially The Kooks due to the massive difference in style, voice, themes etc.
I really like this song and once I’ve heard it once it’ll be in my head all day. It’s about a relationship, which has ended and I think it’s really effective:
“Take me back to the place where I
Loved that girl for all time
Why must life just take away
Every good thing one at a time”

11. If Only –
I think this is quite a weak track on this album. I’m not terrible and you won’t have to skip it but there’s a lot better on the album.
6/10

12. Jackie Big Tits –
When I first read this track on the back of the album I, like most people, thought it would be quite a jokey/fun song which I wouldn’t like with terrible lyrics but I must admit I was proven wrong and it is definitely a high point in the album.
9/10

13. Time Awaits –
I don’t like this song at all. It’s the only one on the album that I have to skip. I don’t know why but it’s an odd song and nowhere near as good as the rest of the album.
3/10

14. Got No Love –
This is an unusual song, which isn’t bad but I definitely think the album could have ended a lot better. It’s a short song which doesn’t have many lyrics.
6/10

***Overall***
On how their songs are written, Pritchard says:
“I never write lyrics and then do a song, I find that really hard - that's like a real skill. Like Dylan, or Leonard Cohen, they write poems and then obviously put them to a song, we just jam and blurt stuff out!"
I think that, by listening to their songs it is quite obvious that this is the way they write. It is not a criticism in anyway but simply saying that they’re lyrics aren’t generally amazing but they’re tunes, use of instrumentation and catchiness are what make the Brighton four different to their competition. Despite this there are songs which show their lyrical ability such as “Naïve” but on the whole what I, like most people like about The Kooks in their innocence, raw talent-particularly Luke Pritchard’s voice which shows no signs of being commercialised unlike so many stars nowadays, and the fact that you could imagine them performing down your local pub (even though I never see talent like that at my local!) Ages between 18-22 their youth shines through and unlike many singers such as Jojo-the young American pop-singer, they do not pretend to know a lot about the world and relationships etc I feel they are “keeping it real” (sorry to use such a pun!)
As you can probably tell I would definitely recommend this album. When I first bought it I didn’t know what to expect-only really knowing “She moves in her own way” and not even realising that “The Kooks” such “Naive” but now I would definitely include them in my favourite bands, and recommend to potential buyers. They are not too hard-core which is definitely a selling point for me as there is nothing I hate more than screaming, loud guitars and drums such as Iron Maiden and Nirvana. It’s quite an easy-listening album as far as rock/indie goes and there are many mellow songs as well as “jump around the living room” kind of tracks.

***Availability***
You can purchase this album from most good record shops such as HMV and Virgin Megastore. It is also available from CD WOW for only £6.99
www.cd-wow.com

Thanks for reading
Claire
X x X