The Kooks tap into that sixties countercultural influenced sound at the start of the opening title track with Jonathan Harvey playing a groovy bassline and Alexis Nunez keeping a steady beat. Luke Pritchard’s relaxed vocal joins the mix along with Hugh Harris on organ. The perfect summer sound. The repeated harmonies of “Never know when it’s gonna stop”, it really eases you into the record, a great start from the band. ‘Sunny Baby’ picks the pace up slightly, the bass and guitar combining to create a dreamy wall of sound, Pritchard’s vocal layering on top to really make you feel like you’re in a sunny daydream. “Sunny sunny baby/you know that when you kiss me/you make me feel 10 foot tall” such a happy line, the song captures a loving feeling in a dreamy soundscape. Starting off with a funky bassline, ‘All Over The World’ carries on with the bubble-gum pop sound, the guitar jangling in your left ear, the synthesiser and drums echoing around your head. And the backing vocals are pristine on this track, it is the perfect sound to lay on the grass and absorb the summer sun to.
The simplicity of ‘If They Could Only Know’ will take Kooks fans back to the days of Inside In / Inside Out, capturing that 2006 indie sound they incorporated on their first album. Pritchard’s vocal heavily reminiscent of ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’, a nice bit of nostalgia for diehard fans. We’re treated to some acoustic guitar for ‘China Town’, an upbeat ballad with backing vocals that sound like they’ve come straight from a 70s love song. It’s worth mentioning the soundscapes on this album are very satisfying to the ear, dreamy synths, the drums and bass carrying the tracks beautifully. ‘Compass Will Fracture’ feeds the listener a catchy riff, before the bass and drums join in, the beat calm and steady. The choruses then turns the volume up, Harris striking the guitar with a heavy hand. The final verse bringing the sound back down before Harris bursts it open with a solo that’s bound to blast your ears the first time you hear it.
Beginning with a riff sounding similar to that of the Police’s ‘Walking On The Moon’, ‘Tough At The Top’ starts off cool before heating up quickly. The chorus lifts the song up from reggae sounding to indie rock, and the high pitched “I just wanna live my life with you” is great to listen to. Heavy thumping bass, straight into dreamy guitar licks, and vocals from dreamland, ‘Arrow Through Me’ is probably the most relaxed and peaceful track on the album. It sounds like the soundtrack to being sat in the back of a limousine on the way to a reception at the Ritz. It’s groovy. ‘Echo Chamber’ continues with the calming vibe, it sounds like a modern take on an early Beatles ballad. “I lose myself every time you come near/only for a minute/don’t break the spell” once again, a great bit of lyricism that sounds like it’s straight out of a teenager’s diary. The penultimate track, ‘Let You Go’, adopts that reggae bassline for its chorus (Sting must love this stuff), it adds to the summertime feeling the album has been shooting for the whole way through, and succeeds very well at it too. ‘Talk About It” sounds like it could have been a Rolling Stones track that was left off Some Girls, an excellent way to end this dreamscape album. The reverb on the jangling guitar. The bass sounding like it’s from outer space. The vocals sung with swagger. A brilliant conclusion.
The Kooks have proven once again that they can tap into that summertime indie sound to impress their listeners, nearly 20 years after their debut album they still have that magic and joyful sound which made them so special on that first album. If you want a great soundtrack to the upcoming summer, make it ‘Never/Know’.
The Kooks: Never/Know – Out 9 May 2025 (Virgin)
