The Kooks – Junk Of The Heart

We like it when an opening track leaves you with anticipation for the rest of the album. But ‘Junk Of The Heart(Happy)’ was cheesy pop with unchallenging lyrics like “I want to make you happy, I want to make you feel alive.” That first track set the scene for the rest of the album.
‘Time Above The Earth’ is the emotional tear-jerker that one expects from The Kooks. This one’s well written with personable lyrics and has chart success written all over it. However the extra orchestral vibe added to song could have made it a bit longer.
‘Is It Me’ is the first single to be taken off the album and it’s got elements of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys but it’s nothing new, and nothing experimental. The chorus is pleasant but it’s all a bit too sickly sweet. These boys seem to have ironed out their roughness and are producing generic sounding tunes that don’t show as much character as they are capable of.
Junk Of The Heart just doesn’t have the same impact that Inside In/Inside Out had back in 2006 and this may not be the album to reignite their reputation.
Junk Of The Heart will be released on 12th September 2011