British indie legends The Kooks released their seventh studio album ‘Never/Know’ via Virgin Music Group. The 11-track offering, self-produced by frontman Luke Pritchard*, was born out of a mission to reconnect with The Kooks’ original creative drive. Speaking about the album’s impetus, Pritchard said “It’s not about going back to the first album’s sound, but to the roots of our influences and asking, ‘What is the identity of this band?’
“The whole thing was to just forget that the past had happened,” he says. But to truly move forward, they had to reflect: “What kind of music do we want to make, and how do we make it feel natural?” The band celebrated the album’s release by treating fans to a new music video for single, ‘If They Could Only Know’. On the heartfelt track, Pritchard reflects upon connection across generations. He said “My Gran loved my wife, but she only met her when we’d been going out for a few months, and then she died. My dad also died when I was a kid. I just wish both of them could see me happy. Essentially, it’s as simple as that really. He added, “And I love the line about my Granny’s cooking… because it was bloody
awful.”
Never/Know was announced in January, when the band kicked the campaign off in style with a throwback Indie Club Night at Cherry Bar. Fans who packed out the Melbourne venue were treated to an intimate set of material from the album, and throwback classics. The album’s first single ‘Never Know’ was selected as Radio X’s ‘Record of the Week’. The track also received rotation on BBC Radio 1, 6Music, and Jo Whiley’s show on BBC Radio 2. NME referred to the single welcoming in a “The new era of The Kooks”. 1883 said, “The Kooks have cemented themselves as a key part of the UK musical landscape”.
Following on, the infectious, Spring time banger, ‘Sunny Baby’ garnered support from The Times, who included the single in their ‘Best New Songs’ round up, referring to the track as “Hook perfect”. Elsewhere on the album, The Kooks lay their influences bare with a version of the Wings gem, ‘Arrow Through Me’. Speaking about the choice to include the cover, Pritchard said, “I was listening to it a lot and it was informing the production on the album. It sounds simple but the time signature is quite weird; it showed me how genius it is to be able to make something so complicated feel like a pop song.” He added, “The Police do that kind of thing almost as well as The Beatles. It’s high art to me. Aside from that, I just love the song. It gives me a love at first sight feeling.”
The release of Never/Know follows news that The Kooks will embark on a UK arena tour, including their biggest ever UK headline show at the O2 Arena.
Full track list for Never/Know
1. Never Know
2. Sunny Baby
3. All Over The World
4. If They Could Only Know
5. China Town
6. Compass Will Fracture
7. Tough At The Top
8. Arrow Through Me
9. Echo Chamber
10. Let You Go
11. Talk About It
*All tracks produced by Luke Pritchard except track 9 which was produced by J Lloyd
