Never/Know
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THE KOOKS – NEVER/KNOW – ALBUM REVIEW
The Kooks soon headlining the O2 Arena is a sure-fire sign that the alleged TikTok revival for 2000’s indie bands is real. The Kooks though aren’t one of those bands that disappeared when the going got tough only to re-appear at the whiff of some attention. They’ve been plugging away and experimenting with their sound for the past two decades instead.
Some of the intervening material was instantly forgettable but at least they were trying. They absolutely did also produce some decent new songs during recent years, proof that if you throw enough darts at the board, some will indeed hit the bullseye!
There’s much in their latest, seventh album ‘Never/Know’ that nods towards their journey and the pressures that maintaining relevance and indeed reverence can create. In amongst some telling lyrical moments there is always a sense of returning to a familiar aesthetic on the tracks.
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It’s absolutely not a u-turn back to their signature early sound though and their more exuberant side is still living and breathing throughout these tracks. Fans of all eras of the band will find something comfortable on here.
There within though can lie the problem and the elephant in the room. The indie boom of their generation was written off and maligned under the indie-landfill label for all being the same. A band like The Kooks though who are happy to try new things will always end up turning some fans off with different approaches.
It’s a lose-lose for any band of any genre but the likes of The Kooks and their contemporaries can legitimately argue that they’ve suffered heavily. Whilst there is something here for all fans to find something good in, equally there is something for all to find something bad in.
The reality? This is a good album from The Kooks, but that’s just about it. They will have some new material to air in the cavernous O2 Arena, but they shouldn’t be surprised when the crowd spend the night shouting for ‘Naïve’!
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