Identity crisis

The Kooks' latest album dabbles in music of every genre as band searches for signature sound

By: Dan Kaplan

Posted: 4/15/08

The Kooks' "Konk"

Genre: Indie rock - kinda

Sounds like: The Feeling, The Shins

60 Decibels

Cross the pond to the United Kingdom and you'll find a music industry filled with rock bands that know exactly what sound they want to achieve. The city of Sheffield boasts the relentlessly fast indie rock of the Arctic Monkeys, while London's Bloc Party tackles a more melodic, danceable post-punk sound.

Yet in a country full of goal-oriented bands and sounds, the Kooks remain the odd man out.

The group's new album, "Konk," is a disappointing effort that renders sound or genre classification impossible. As its contemporaries release music that reflects years of hard work in attaining a particular sound, the Kooks has done the exact opposite: giving listeners an album in which no two songs sound like they're from the same band.

That's not to say the songs are terrible. The 12 songs on "Konk" display a wide range of songwriting influences and the even more impressive ability to make catchy music, regardless of genre. But by dipping into so many styles, the group spreads its talent to thin.

For most of the album, the Kooks suffers from an identity crisis or has simply gotten lazy in its newfound celebrity. That's the trouble when a band is signed to a major label after less than two years of existence - it's too much, too fast, and the Kooks is no exception. The band's stellar debut album "Inside In/Inside Out" went triple platinum in the UK, leading to the band's appearances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals and an opening slot for the Rolling Stones.

To put it simply, having shared the stage and been surrounded by innumerable bands has allowed the Kooks to take sonic influence from everyone but itself. After doing its best Franz Ferdinand imitation on "Do You Wanna," the band gives us "Gap," a song strikingly similar to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So." In some cases, these experiments work, but most of them just scream rip-off.

Still, the upbeat lead single "Always Where I Need To Be" recalls the band's earliest hit "Eddie's Gun," and shows us there are still glimmers of the band's much more original past. Another such moment occurs with the reflective acoustic song "One Last Time," a shorter, less infectious rewrite of another earlier hit, "Ooh La."

The wild success of "Inside In/Inside Out" makes "Konk" all the more disappointing. The former wasn't a masterpiece, but its songs worked together to document a band having fun at what it was doing. "Konk" serves up several good songs, but without any flow or consistency. The Kooks of this album is at a critical stage in its career in which the group must take the next step, but inexplicably hasn't. Maybe the members are afraid to, or maybe they just don't know how.

sdkaplan@syr.edu