The Kooks: Inside In Inside Out

The debut album by these Brighton indie rockers is next up for review.

Side A opens with ‘Seaside’ a slow acoustic ballad, about a relationship. It acts as a prologue to the rest of the tracks and may also be a nod to the bands home town. ‘See the World’ is the next song on Side A and it ramps things up a lot. With powerful drums and more snarling vocals, a complete juxtaposition from ‘Seaside’ following ‘See the World’ is ‘Sofa Song’ a brilliant piece of acoustic pop, it’s one of the most recognisable Kooks songs and it’s still super catchy. ‘Eddie’s Gun’ is the next song on Side A one of the heaviest tracks on the record, Luke Pritchard delivers the vocals a ferocious speed and I can hear a few traces of Thin Lizzy in this track especially in its structure. ‘Ooh La’ slows things down a little, and brings back the catchy choruses. It’s another of the bands most recognisable tracks   and remains as one of their best. ‘You Don’t Love Me’ is the penultimate track on Side A the albums lead single a short snappy song about a failed relationship. Complete with fast paced drums and almost skiffle vocals. Classic Kooks. ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’ ends Side A, arguably the bands most famous song. The chorus is instantly recognisable and has that singalong quality, it was one of the songs that propelled the band into the public consciousness and it still sounds brilliant in 2022, as good as it did in 2006

‘Matchbox’ opens Side B. This is one of my favourite songs on the album, I love the structure and how the dynamic changes throughout. It sounds different to most of the other tracks and it’s brilliant. ‘Naive’ follows and like ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’ it’s one of the bands most famous songs, it has a chorus that is ingrained within British culture, you cannot help but sing along to it. ‘I Want You’ follows next a rather atmospheric song, it sounds like a film soundtrack, for a rather scary film. Luke Pritchard’s vocals are haunting and the bass riff, shuddering. It’s rather different from ‘Naive’ but it’s still brilliant. ‘If Only’ is the 4th track on Side B another heavy track, with a fast paced vocal delivery. It sounds like a certain Mr Alex Turner is singing this track. It sounds a lot like early Arctic Monkeys. ‘Jackie Big Tits’ is another of my favourites, it’s a classic indie song. With a rather unfortunate title. However it’s still a brilliant song. ‘Time Awaits’ is the penultimate track one of the longest songs on the album. It starts off as an acoustic number before becoming a reggae funk mash up. It’s a mad amalgamation of what The Kooks do. Ending the album is ‘Got No Love’ another slow burning track that brings the record to a close, it’s a clever way to close the album. Like how ‘Seaside’ opened the record.