The Kooks – Listen
4/5
The Kooks are making a glorious and loud entrance into this week’s new release list with their latest work Listen – and you absolutely should.
Similar to their debut album “Inside In/Inside Out”, the album jumps across different genres. The bouncy, synth-pop track “Around Town“ opens up Listen with bundles of energy and an updated Kooks sound that gets the job done.
“Forgive and Forget”, the smooth and crisp second track, radiates a soulful flavour and maintains the album’s high level of energy.
“Bad Habit” was the second single from Listen, capturing the band’s bouncy dance-rock style, which precedes the first single “Down“.
“Down“ takes a huge spin on the traditional Kooks sound with a heavy influence from pop and soul tracks. Inflo, a London based hip-hop producer, worked closely with the band on the new album and this track especially. The catchy “down-down-diggity” chorus is either loved or hated by fans, since the new direction isn’t exactly indie rock.
One of the best characterisitcs of The Kooks is their versatility to incorporate different genres and blend them together to update their sound. Hate it or love it, Listen is a solid release from the British band.
