With a new album and their biggest Australian tour to date on the horizon, The Kooks prove they're more than a nostalgia act.
Known for their catchy choruses and jangly guitar riffs, The Kooks have earned worldwide acclaim as indie-rock icons. For many, their music is a soundtrack to formative years – a reminder of sun-kissed summers and youthful abandon.
Yet unlike so many of their contemporaries from the 2000s indie explosion, the Brighton group are anything but a relic of the past. Still evolving almost two decades on from their debut, the band are about to embark on their biggest Australian tour to date.
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As they prepare to release their seventh studio album, The Kooks prove musical longevity isn’t about clinging to the past, but embracing change while staying true to your roots.
Dialling in from their London abodes, I spoke to the band’s founders, lead singer Luke Pritchard and guitarist Hugh Harris, ahead of their return to Australian shores.
“Australia is the best,” Luke says beaming. “The tone of the Aussie alternative indie scene…is very specific. The groove is very distinctive and it’s changed music in the last five or 10 years. I think we’ve always had this synergy with Australian music.”
Whether this connection comes from a shared coastal backdrop or a mutual love for “heritage rock-n-roll” as Hugh suggests, it’s fostered a devoted Australian fanbase eager to welcome them back. “We drink from the same tap,” Hugh says. “We’re kind of like conjoined but estranged cousins.”
With drummer Alexis Nuñez in tow, the band will play Party In The Paddock, Yours and Owls Festival and five headline shows promising setlists that feature both fan favourites and new material.
“I’ve noticed people are much more receptive now to new songs,” Luke says. “Back in the old days you used to say, ‘Here’s a new song’ and you’d get everyone booing. Now everyone’s kind of excited.”
While similar noughties bands like Razorlight and The Fratellis have either faded from the mainstream or struggled to maintain momentum, The Kooks have consistently navigated shifting tides within the industry.
They have dabbled in a host of sounds over the years – notes of funk, soul and electropop can be heard in their discography, with hints of Ethiopian jazz and gospel adding further texture to their sonic palette.
“We don’t bind ourselves by genre,” Hugh says, “so we get to access the ‘cream’ of multiple genres – which I guess is pop, because pop music is genreless.”
Describing the band’s DNA as a signature “bounce” with familiar cross-rhythms, the overarching quality that continues to enamour listeners is simpler still.
“I think our stripes are just positive, uplifting and quite authentic reflections of what it’s like being a human at various different ages,” Hugh says.
Lyrically the band have covered serious ground since their quadruple-platinum 2006 debut Inside In/Inside Out. The youthful exuberance and occasional hedonism of their early tracks – tales of drug addiction, impotence and infidelity – have evolved into more nuanced explorations of self-doubt, loss and personal autonomy. For Luke, these new perspectives have been largely influenced by married life and parenthood, as encapsulated on their 2022 album 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark.
The band’s metamorphosis continues with their seventh album, due later this year. Remaining relatively tight-lipped on the details, Luke and Hugh tease a record that will celebrate their “roots”, focusing on simplicity and space. Using just four instruments at a time, it’s a stark contrast to polished releases like their recent collab with lovelytheband on the synth-pop track, Jeanie.
“It’s been introspective,” Luke says. “It’s been about doing it ourselves and not having a strong personality or direction from a producer or exteriors. It’s been about the musicianship of the four guys in the room.”
This stripped-back style aims to evoke a sense of effortlessness and fun, with themes of “freedom, gratitude, and romance” running throughout. Luke describes the record as one big “love letter” and sought the addition of female backing vocalists – a first for the band – to enhance this motif.
Returning to writing on guitar, Luke says the minimalist approach was a fruitful change. “I just tried to get back to myself a bit and what I was feeling and not try and be too clever.”
After two decades in music, the band’s key to keeping things fresh is simple: stay loose. “It’s really important to keep doing stuff that makes you feel a bit uncomfortable and where you don’t quite know what you’re doing,” Luke says. “Great artists have made terrible albums, but then they come back with something you didn’t expect and it’s incredible. I think that’s much more exciting. We should be allowed to make mistakes.”
For Hugh, The Kooks’ drive to grow and explore feels innate, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. “Curiosity is kind of powered by itself,” he says. “That’s why we’re still doing it and lots of bands aren’t. I guess we just genuinely don’t want to do anything else.”
The group’s longevity must also be credited to the uniquely genuine bond and respect between Luke and Hugh. “We haven’t wanted to not work together, which is very rare for a guitar player and a singer,” Luke chuckles.
“We both have the same sight-line and ethos,” Hugh echoes. “Our core beliefs are very aligned and very simple, and you can’t fuck with that. That survives attacks and it’s robust, so it’s really cool.” As The Kooks were mere teenagers when they were first signed, I asked the pair to share any sage words of wisdom they might give to their younger selves.
“I’d say to just trust in your gut feeling,” Hugh says. “It’s very hard to build a sense of self in a famous band when you’re a teenager. “Don’t do drugs,” he adds sternly, cracking a smile. “No I’m kidding – do do drugs. Do all the drugs.”
Luke rounds out his advice with a healthy dose of The Kooks’ signature optimism. “To the young musicians doing it now, don’t take it all too seriously. Just don’t worry so much, because life goes really fucking quick. It’ll all work out.”
Grab tickets to see The Kooks at the Palace Foreshore on February 27 here.
