Konk, the second album from indie pop starlets The Kooks, will appeal to those who enjoyed the catchier, hookier elements of their best-selling debut Inside In/Inside Out. For the band are more "pop" than "indie" this time around, and Konk is an overt attempt at winning even more chart-topping kudos: and it's not a bad attempt at that. Recorded over a six-week period at the end of 2007 (in Ray Davies' Konk Studios in London), the album's first single "Always Where I Need to Be" is as insouciantly catchy as a contemporary rock band can get, while tracks like opener "See the Sun," and "Mr. Maker", with its infectious hand claps, are equally accessible. There's tougher fare like "Sway", which show the boys can blast it when they want, but the album generally plays it safe, grappling (clumsily in places) with themes of love and sex, and revealing not a great deal of musical or lyrical depth in the process (see "Do You Wanna"). The album runs out of steam towards the end, and though fans of their earlier material will love it, fussier indie fans will probably point their ears towards something less contrived. --Danny McKenna
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A must buy! The Kooks have prooven with Konk/Rak that they've developed greatly from their first album. Every song is distinguishable and keeps the joyful feel whilst listening. Watching The Ships Roll In is a truely beautiful song and in my opinion is worth the extra £3 for the double CD album alone. All the songs give the feeling that they have all had an even ammount of time put in to them, I couldn't find a bad song! Konk/Rak is definitely worth every penny!
good album and a great new sound! i loved the kooks first album, and this is an impressive return. luke pritchard writes pretty much all the songs on the albums and really steps up to the always difficult second album. there's a different feeling with this new album and the sound is more mature and developed! the songs are more creative guitar wise and luke's vocals are very impressive! the second disc is a good effort and has a few different sound i hope they incorporate into future albums. the most exciting band around in british music at... more info
RAK is good Listening to it now. Very good, worth getting the special edition if you are gonna buy the album at all.
Definitely worth the extra few quid.. In my opinion, Rak is brilliant. I've listened to it more than Konk infact, I was just amazed at how the Kooks have progressed and how they are experimenting with some really different sounds.. if it weren't for Luke's voice on a couple of tracks you would never guess it was them, they've really broadened their sound on this cd. Shows this band have really got talent, so DEFINITELY go for the double cd version.
