Editorial: Two decades later, The Kooks prove the magic never left

Vingt Sept
2 days ago
8 min read

Updated: 35 minutes ago

They used to play to fifty people in a Brighton pub. Now they’re selling out arenas. And yes, they still argue about who makes the tea.

Twenty years on from Inside In/Inside Out, The Kooks are back with Never/Know, an album that channels the energy of their breakout era through the lens of two decades on the road. Luke Pritchard and Hugh Harris sound revitalised, their songwriting instinctive yet refined, nostalgic yet restless.

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What began as a tight-knit band of indie dreamers has evolved into one of Britain’s most enduring acts. Time has shifted their perspective but not their pulse. The hooks are still there - sharp, bright, and instantly memorable - and there’s a new confidence in their sound, a sense of freedom that comes from experience.

Never/Know isn’t about chasing youth, it’s about understanding it. It’s a record that reminds you why The Kooks mattered then, and why they still do now, not because they’ve stayed the same, but because they’ve never stopped moving.

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Luke, you’ve spoken about “debutism” - the magic of a band’s first record. What drew you back to that idea on your seventh album?

Luke: There’s something pure about that first record energy - when you’re not second-guessing yourself, just pouring everything out. After all these years, I found myself craving that rawness again. We’d gotten caught up in expectations and industry machinery, and I wanted to strip back to why we started making music in the first place. Sometimes you need to go backwards to move forward.

Do you think bands ever really escape the shadow of their debut, or is it a reference you carry with pride rather than pressure?

Luke: It’s definitely pride now. For years it felt like this weight - people constantly comparing everything to Inside In/Inside Out. But I’ve realised that’s actually a beautiful problem to have. That record connected with people in a way that changed our lives. Now I see it as our foundation rather than our ceiling, and Never/Know feels like we’ve finally made peace with that relationship.

Hugh: I think the shadow of our first record can either be daunting or a cool relief. We went through a lot of line up changes, emotional changes in the ensuing period and sometimes you need a bit of dappled shade to find yourself

You deliberately kept the process loose - even secretive at first. What did working that way unlock for you creatively that had been missing before?

Luke: I actually told the band we were just recording demos! They had no idea we were making the actual album. I thought if they knew it was “the real thing,” everyone would tense up, start second-guessing. But when you think you’re just messing about, you take risks you wouldn’t normally take. By the time I told them what we’d actually done, we had this beautiful, spontaneous record.

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Hugh: Luke kinda tricked us, consciously or unconsciously, that unlocked a lot creatively, a safe environment away from stress and pressure, internal and external. Quite cool actually.

Hugh, you described this record as being made in “complete and utter ease.” Was that ease something you had to fight for, or did it come naturally after years of more rigid recording environments?

Hugh: Every record has its ups and downs, and this one wasn’t exempt entirely of unease. I think we were able to ‘be at ease’ with the various bumps, due to the experience of working together for 20 years.

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Over the years, The Kooks have shifted from indie rock to synthpop and krautrock influences. Did ‘Never/Know’ feel more like an evolution, or a distillation of everything you’ve done?

Luke: Definitely a distillation. All those detours and experiments - they weren’t wrong turns, they were research. The krautrock taught us about groove, the synthpop taught us about texture, but our core has always been guitar-driven melodies and emotional directness. Never/Know feels like we’ve taken everything we’ve learnt and filtered it through our original instincts. It’s like we went on this massive journey around the world only to realise home was pretty good after all.

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Hugh: A bit of both really! It was a platform to share our experiences inside and away from the band. I had been off writing for orchestra and theatre and that gave me a newfound ease with the thing that comes naturally to me, the guitar.

Luke, you’ve always drawn on classic songwriters like Dylan and The Stones. Did you find yourself revisiting those influences whilst writing this record, or were you consciously moving away from them?

Luke: I wasn’t consciously doing either - they’re just part of my DNA now. But what’s different is I’m not trying to write like Dylan or Jagger anymore. I’m writing like someone who’s been shaped by them but has their own story to tell. It’s less imitation, more inspiration. Though I’ll admit, there were moments in the studio where I’d catch myself doing a dodgy Mick Jagger impression and Hugh would just give me this look…

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Hugh, you’ve spoken about funnelling your love of opera and classical music into your guitar parts. How does that actually translate in practice - can you give an example from the album?

Hugh: I think it’s all kinda packed in there somehow. Riffs are just motifs and a guitar can be an orchestra; emotive and versatile in so many ways. For example, the solo for Compass Will Fracture has all sorts of dissonance, collapse and reform and goes on a journey from ethereal, sort of untethered wailing to Stravinsky stabs.

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The new songs feel playful yet deeply personal - nicknames for your kids on Sunny Baby, raw grief on If They Could Only Know. Was vulnerability easier this time, or harder?

Luke: Easier, definitely. Age does that - you realise hiding doesn’t protect you from anything. Having a three-year-old son now, the same age I was when I lost my dad… it puts everything into perspective. There’s this weight to it, this responsibility to be present in ways maybe I didn’t understand before. The songs demanded honesty, and we were finally mature enough to give it to them.

Do you feel songwriting now is more about documenting your lives, or making a statement to the world?

Luke: It’s documenting first, but good documentation becomes its own statement. When you write honestly about being a parent, about loss, about getting older in a young person’s industry, you’re not trying to change the world - you’re just trying to make sense of your place in it. But that honesty connects with people going through similar things.

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Which lyric on ‘Never/Know’ holds the deepest meaning for you personally, and why?

Luke: “if they could only know how we found eachother” it’s about the sadness I have that my gran and my dad never got see that I got myself together and found happiness. My Gran especially as she saw me grow up and was a big part of my life after my dad died. I’m sad she didn’t see me happy and content, although I think she knew I was on my way. Everything else - the career, the ego, the music industry drama - becomes background noise. That line represents the center of gravity the whole album revolves around.

Hugh: I like when Luke sings non, je ne regrette rien, in an English twang reminiscent of Brad Pitt’s character in Inglourious Basterds ‘a river-dechi’ (zero attempt at the native tongue!). Makes me smile.

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With an arena tour on the horizon - and your largest ever headline show at London’s O2 Arena this October - what’s running through your mind as you prepare to own a moment like this?

Luke: Gratitude, mainly. Twenty years ago we were playing to 50 people in Brighton pubs, and now we’re selling out arenas. Mental, isn’t it? But also responsibility - to the songs, to the fans, to each other. The O2 show feels like a celebration of everything we’ve survived and achieved together. It’s terrifying and thrilling in equal measure. It’s going to be amazing, we are so excited.

Hugh: I think just holding true to who we are and what we’ve built. And also remembering this is all completely ridiculous, life. Not taking things too seriously and allowing imposter syndrome to take its hold.

Your debut defined a moment in the 2000s, but ‘Never/Know’ feels like a band reborn. Were there moments you questioned whether The Kooks still had more to say?

Luke: Absolutely. There were years when we felt like we were just going through the motions, when the fire wasn’t there. We’d look at each other in the studio and wonder if we were fooling ourselves. But those doubts forced us to dig deeper, to find what we still cared about. Never/Know exists because we have loads more to say!

Hugh: Every day. But we aren’t a headline grabbing band. We use good musicianship and writing to express ourselves. Not controversy or political theatre.

Having navigated ego battles, near break-ups, and reinvention, what does partnership mean to you now compared to when you were teenagers just starting out?

Luke: Now it’s about serving the songs. We’ve learnt that our individual strengths are only powerful when they’re working together, not competing. The partnership has become less about ego and more about trust - trusting that we’re both committed to making the best music possible. Though we still argue about who makes the tea…

Hugh: It means listening to each other and not casting judgement. Ideas have us, and being able to voice them is an essential first part of collaboration. Letting go of the result is the second bit.

What’s it like to suddenly be rediscovered as a “new favourite band” by a generation that wasn’t even around for your debut?

Luke: It’s surreal and wonderful. These kids are discovering our entire catalogue fresh, without the baggage of what we were supposed to be. They just hear the songs and connect. It reminds us that good songs are timeless - they’ll find their audience regardless of when they were made. It’s given us a new lease on life creatively. Though it does make me feel ancient when someone says “Oh wow, you guys have been around since my parents were at uni!”

Hugh: Unbelievable. I still don’t believe they’re not all paid actors, probably won’t at the O2 either.

Looking back at Naïve and forward with Never/Know, what do you hope listeners understand about The Kooks’ journey - and what’s still left on the horizon for you as artists?

Luke: I hope they understand that authenticity is a journey, not a destination. I’m the same person who wrote those early songs, but I’ve lived more, lost more, learnt more. The horizon feels wide open now because we’re not trying to be anything other than ourselves. As long as life keeps happening to us, we’ll keep making music about it. Plus, Hugh’s still got about fifty more operas to work through, so we’re not going anywhere anytime soon! The best is yet to come, hopefully with fewer existential crises along the way.

Hugh: Just that we are here to service our community. I hope we can tell our stories and we can all reflect together on this experience we are having on Earth.