May 06 2008 12:45 pm,
The Kooks
02/05/2008
Luke Kook steps into view with his arm around new bassist Dan Logan. The two friends are immersed in conversation and the image speaks volumes for this band’s state of mind. They couldn’t get more relaxed and they will never be more confident. And by stepping onto stage in the same frame of mind as they’d walk into your front room they invite an intimacy that shrinks the Brixton Academy to a quarter its normal size. The band explode into recent single ‘Always Where I Need To Be’, the one moment from their new album that matches up to the hits from the first record. Luke swings himself around his microphone stand, relishing a song on which he doesn’t have to play guitar. It’s a mesmerising start. From here on in, however, the performance is patchy. It can’t be anything else when the ‘Konk’ material is so underwhelming, and it would be to everyone’s benefit if the band rushed that material out of the way and then just got on with delivering sparkling pop diamonds like ‘Ooh La’ and the irresistible ‘Naive’. As it is, the setlist is jumbled up and the mood bumps along. Not that the fans seem to care. They respond to the dismal, Oasis-esque ‘Mr. Maker’ and ‘Shine On’ with enthusiasm, and groups of thirty-something women dance gleefully around their handbags. ‘
Johnny K
