The Arctic Monkeys, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, Maximo Park; Britain tore open a large can of good music last year. And we haven't reached the bottom yet. The latest band that has launched itself is The Kooks. Hailing from Brighton, these young men have managed to mix a variety of styles into a uniqie sound and keep it coherent. So don't worry if you don't like the bands listed in the first sentence, these guys don't sound anything like them!
The band tries to mislead you into thinking they're a nice and quiet bunch with their acoustic opener. Seaside is a short and sweet song about finding love at the (Brighton) beach. If you believed them, you were probably a little shocked to hear the very different Do You Want To See The world next. Though it has a laidback feel to it, the track is uptempo with a dominant drum. Sofa Song is bouncy and catchy, followed by a more poppy Eddie's Gun. You Don't Love Me clearly has ska-influences, while Time Awaits has a bluesy rythm.
Naive definitely is the best track, though which song is my favourite changes from day to day. Overall this is an album that will probably do very well over the summer. It's laidback and happy, but not as simple as it first appears.
Verdict: Though not every track is equally strong, this is a great debut album. Definitely worth your money!