My Amazon Reviews: The Kooks "Inside In/Inside Out"

Inside Job  
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The Kooks are one of the many bands to rise from the wake of the Arctic Monkeys' success, with "Inside in/Inside Out" roughly the same time "Whatever People Say I Am" did. Also like many Brit Bands to debut in this period, the sound of The Strokes informs The Kooks' garage-guitars, along with a kind of all-us-guys band rush that makes this album well worth a listen. There's plenty of three minute power-shots scattered around "Inside In/Inside Out" to kick up the adrenaline.

What helps The Kooks stand out is that bandleader Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar) can write songs that add dimension to the album. "Eddie's Gun" may come across as a punky-pressure cooker, but it is followed up by "Ooh La," an acoustic mid-tempo number based on an acoustic riff. There's a goodly amount of lead guitar that rises above the garage level, courtesy of Hugh Harris. Plus a confidence in their playing the belies their youth, but what really made me sit up and take notice was just melodic many of the songs here are. I thought of Razorlight's self titled second album often as "Inside In" was playing the more tuneful songs, like "She Moves in Her Own Way" or "Naive."

Like most of the bands mentioned in this review, The Kooks have one other link. They are quintessentially British sounding (you can throw comparisons to The Kinks and Oasis in here if you prefer). They're a bit rough at the edges still (the title "Jackie Big Tits" should have been dropped) a problem that the next album, "Konk," remedies in a big way, yet too melodic to share the same pedestal as the Monkeys. If that kind of brash Britishness appeals you, then you're going to enjoy The Kooks' debut.