The Kooks - Junk Of The Heart

With great disappointment then, I read early reviews of Junk Of The Heart, that indicated the album was to be, at best, average.

Having hidden themselves away in some obscure location for several months, this album was to be a return to form for a group who has now suffered line-up changes and severe delays to production. Critics however gear negatively towards the offering claiming that “[The album] is a series of half-formed, indifferently performed tracks” [Andy Gill, Independent], or mock the group as “boys next door who've got hold of a guitar and some Beatles wigs” [Caroline Sullivan, Guardian].

After listening, we can all breathe a sigh of relief: the donned Beatles wigs, per se, are rather of the experimental type, and those who regard the album in such an unfavourable light have obviously missed the depth and showcased talent in the new hash.

True, nothing on this album stands out as ‘She Moves In Her Way’ as a summer anthem, nor does it excite rebellious teenagers: but then this album is a passage to adulthood for the band; songs featured are troubled and tinged with first regrets and a desire to regain youth.

In fact, the third effort is a spine-tingling showcase that plays like an extended version ‘Seaside’, vulnerable and lonely, crossed with an apathetic ‘Ooh La’ (forgotten gems of their debut).

Opener ‘Junk of the Heart (Happy)’ echoes the group’s efforts in reacquainting themselves with their diverse influences. Twisting a sixties swing element, the track amply denotes the guitarist skill within the band, alternating between the relaxed acoustic sounds and the heavier and darker breaks of the electric guitar. Throw in the warbling of lead Luke Pritchard, which was the original source of the band’s uniqueness, and there is established a real sense of melancholy. This blurring of the boundary between positive and negative haunts the album throughout, and separates it from other indie albums in its quest to revive 60s, 70s and even 80s mainstream.

Should Beatle wigs be uptaken in such numbers as the softly reminiscent ‘How’d You Like That?’ they are only for influence and quickly shook off. Rather than a quirky throwaway pop track of love, the sound shifts to tribulation and trepidation. Elsewhere, David Bowie masks are simply skin deep in ‘Runaway’ and ‘Mr Nice Guy’, both alternating dark synths with scathing lyrics: obsession of “Seeing your name on the wall again” in the first, played against the deceit of “Believing in things that don’t believe in you”.

Tracks such as ‘Rosie’, wherein the band are prophetically “followed by the same old cloud again”, and ‘Petulia’ highlight the loss of innocence for the band: love’s fragility and hurt consuming “Be careful with me”. These sentiments are best framed by short ‘Taking Pictures of You’, which merits every moment an individual showcase of both beauty and disgrace.

Regarding the arrangements and instruments that grace the album, there has been some consideration in how to best achieve this revival feel. Credit should be given to the ethereal use of strings in ‘Time Above The Earth’, introducing a stripped back approach that is rarely used in the genre. Lead single ‘Is It Me?’ almost strays into drum n bass territory before switching abruptly to moody 70’s rock ‘n’ roll. A smattering of synths offers a dark edge to many a track; the contrast and clash between the guitars and electronica is to unsettle the listener and reaffirm the changing and unstable emotions and feelings in each piece.

Incorporating such a plethora of influences however means there is a hard balance to achieve. Whilst The Kooks should be praised for their indie stamp on some classic 80s sounds which takes a main segment of the album, the straying inclusion of 60s swing and post millenium drum almost sounds unconsidered in its measure.

Arising from this problem is that none of the tracks offer the simple happy Brit pop that featured on the first two albums. Whilst this is an interesting expansion into other territories, perhaps there has been too wide an area covered too thinly.

With this in mind, it is easily understood how Natalie Shaw, and many others, mistook lack of direction for scribblings: “[The album is] just a messy selection of meandering verses that surely can’t be the product of three years’ work.” [Natalie Shaw, BBC]. However, each track has some reference point to a dark experience: a regret, a mistake, a love lost. The meandering verses serve as a mental riddling of whether the right or wrong was done.

In fact that a majority of the individual pieces lifted from this album is not going to storm any mainstream chart in a hurry is true testament to the quality of the Brindie Pop to be enjoyed.

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