See the world (The Kooks) (LP 4411 - 4413)

The Kooks  Inside In/Inside Out (CD, Virgin Records, 2006) ****  

The Kooks  Konk (CD, Virgin Records, 2008) ***** 

The Kooks  Junk of the Heart (CD, Virgin Records, 2011) *** 

Genre: Indie rock 

Places I remember: Virgin Megastore (Dubai)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Shine On (Konk)

Gear costume: See the Sun (Konk), Junk of the Heart (Happy)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Kooks is an alt rock group from Brighton. The band is Luke Pritchard (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Max Rafferty (bass), plus Paul Garred (drums). Max was fired after the second album was recorded, he was replaced by Peter Denton for the third album.

Inside In/Inside Out was their debut album, released in the mid 2000s. The appeal for me comes from Luke's vocals, and the catchy pop songs the band write together in various combinations. All up, The Kooks create a charming sound together on the debut.

Second album, Konk, was recorded at Konk Studios - owned by Ray Davies and the location for the vast majority of The Kinks albums.

The debut was a confident set, but Konk surpasses it in terms of swagger and execution. Luke Pritchard is at his inspired best on this album, but so too is guitarist Hugh Harris. Konk is a superb pop rock album and the band's five star classic.

They tried to shake things up a bit with their third album, Junk of the Heart. It's okay to do that, of course, but I prefer the pop smarts of Konk and so my interest faded with Junk, and I haven't bought any successive albums.

Where do they all belong? That's enough Kookiness I think. The first two albums created their appeal for me.