Konk
Studio album by
the Kooks
Released11 April 2008
Recorded2007
StudioKonk Studios, London
GenreIndie rock
Length43:47
LabelVirgin
ProducerTony Hoffer
The Kooks chronology
Inside In/Inside Out
(2006)		 Konk
(2008)		 Junk of the Heart
(2011)
RAK
Cover of the special edition which includes bonus disc RAK.
Singles from Konk
  1. "Always Where I Need to Be"
    Released: 19 March 2008
  2. "Shine On"
    Released: 7 July 2008
  3. "Sway"
    Released: 13 October 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
BBC(Mixed)[3]
Digital Spy[4]
Drowned in Sound(1/10)[5]
NME(5/10)[6]
Pitchfork Media(4.9/10)[7]
Spin[8]
The Times[9]
The Independent[10]
The Guardian[11]

Konk is the second album by British indie rock band the Kooks, released on 14 April 2008 on Virgin Records. Produced by Tony Hoffer, the album is named after the London studio where it was recorded, which is the property of Ray Davies.[12] This was the last album to feature original bassist Max Rafferty.

Writing and recording

As early as October 2006, nine months after the release of their platinum debut album Inside In/Inside Out, lead singer Luke Pritchard was already claiming that the Kooks' second album would be "fucking amazing. We're going to take our time and release it when we feel it's ready."[13] In January 2007, it was reported that the Kooks had returned to their studio in Brighton to begin work on the album, with Pritchard admitting that they had "tons of new tunes."[14]

The album was recorded with producer Tony Hoffer at Konk Studios in London, with the band taking advantage of their debut album's success by having a bigger recording budget that enabled them to use better equipment. "We wanted this album to sound more epic than the last one," said Pritchard.[15]

Being fans of the Kinks, the Kooks were excited by the prospect of recording at a studio started and run by their idols. "When we got here first we were very excited because this building has yielded some amazing music -- stuff that I still listen to all the time. You can't help but be inspired by making an album here," said Pritchard. The band had been prolific songwriters during their two years on tour, and even considered making their sophomore effort a double album.[15]

However, tensions would occur due to bassist Max Rafferty. The band's issues with Rafferty eventually came to a head and he was fired on 29 January 2008 after the album's completion and before its release. Remarking on Rafferty's sacking, Pritchard commented, "In my opinion he's going through a lot in his life, and being in a band doesn't help that kind of stuff." [16] In another interview, guitarist Hugh Harris added, "You’ve got to believe in what you’re doing. You’ve got to have some sort of drive. If you don’t think the music you’re playing is the best in the world then why would you be in that band?"

Rafferty's departure made the band consider splitting up, but they soon reconvened with Dan Logan, formerly of Cat the Dog, a fellow Brighton band that also shared management with the Kooks.[17] On 2 March 2008, Logan participated in a Mike Crossey-produced recording session at RAK Studios that yielded RAK, a nine-song disc that was packaged with the special edition of Konk.[18]

Promotion

Konk was released on 11 April 2008 and went on to debut on the UK Albums Chart at number one with first week sales of 65,901 units.[31] The album also spawned three top 50 hits including their highest chart performer to date, "Always Where I Need to Be", which peaked at number three. In the United States, it reached number 41 on the Billboard 200 and the album's first single, "Always Where I Need to Be", peaked at number 22 on the Alternative Songs chart. The album was certified gold in both the UK and Ireland.

"Mr. Maker" was heard on the Grownups episode "Winks", "Do You Wanna" was featured on The CW's Gossip Girl In the 18 episode of Season 1, "Much I 'Do' about anything, while "Love It All" was featured on the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Seduction". "Always Where I Need to Be", "See the Sun", "Love It All", "Shine On" and "Mr. Maker" were all featured in the fourth series of the BBC 1 drama Waterloo Road. "Shine On" was used on a variety of commercials as well.

After initially promoting the album with Logan until September 2008, bass duties for the remainder of the album cycle were taken over by Pete Denton, who had also previously filled in for Rafferty and would eventually become a full member of the band. Drummer Paul Garred would also be forced to abandon touring for three months in mid-2008 due to an injury to his left arm;[19] he was initially replaced on tour by Nick Millard (formerly of Crackout)[20] before returning. Garred then left again in late 2009, and Chris Prendergast, who had been the drummer for Kooks tourmate Kid Harpoon, joined in 2010 as both live drummer and band member during initial sessions for the next album.[21][22]

Reception

AllMusic said with Konk, the Kooks "explores pop and rock in all their glory,"[23] while BBC Music described their second album as "a little contrived with the recycling of old guitar lines and intros."[24] NME suggested the departure of Rafferty affected Konk's production, stating "Konk is the sound of a band in disarray, unsuccessfully attempting to hold things together."[25]

In 2011, Rafferty said that his dissatisfaction with the album was because "it wasn’t written in the same way (as the first album) so there wasn’t the same vibe about it. We just didn’t collaborate on the songs in the same way as we did on the first one."[26]

Track listing

Konk CDV3043
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."See the Sun"
  • Luke Pritchard
  • Paul Garred
3:36
2."Always Where I Need to Be"Pritchard2:41
3."Mr. Maker"Pritchard3:00
4."Do You Wanna"Pritchard4:06
5."Gap"
  • Garred
  • Pritchard
  • Hugh Harris
4:00
6."Love It All"
  • Pritchard
  • Max Rafferty
2:50
7."Stormy Weather"Pritchard4:01
8."Sway"Pritchard3:36
9."Shine On"Pritchard3:14
10."Down to the Market"Pritchard2:27
11."One Last Time"Pritchard2:38
12."Tick of Time"Pritchard4:25
13."All Over Town" (hidden track)Pritchard3:14
iTunes Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Bad Taste in My Mouth" (iTunes bonus track)Pritchard3:27
15."Vicious" (iTunes pre-order bonus track)Pritchard3:23


RAK CDVX3043
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Watching the Ships Roll In"Pritchard3:21
2."Eaten By Your Lover"Garred1:05
3."No Longer"Harris3:44
4."Fa La La"
  • Harris
  • Pritchard
3:01
5."Nothing Ever Changes"
  • Garred
  • Pritchard
2:15
6."By My Side"Harris2:47
7."Hatful of Love"Pritchard3:32
8."See the Sun" (Alternate Version)
  • Garred
  • Pritchard
2:03
9."Brooklyn" (Home Demo)Pritchard2:25

Personnel

Release history

Region Date
Europe 11 April 2008
United Kingdom 14 April 2008
United States 15 April 2008

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ↑ "Konk by The Kooks". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Konk at AllMusic
  3. ↑ "Music - Review of The Kooks - Konk". BBC. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Kooks: 'Konk' - Music Album Review". Digital Spy. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Album Review: The Kooks - Konk". Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - The Kooks". NME. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "The Kooks: Konk Album Review - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Kooks, 'Konk' (Astralwerks)". Spin. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Times | UK News, World News and Opinion". The Times. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Andy Gill (11 April 2008). "Album: The Kooks, Konk (Virgin) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  11. ↑ Betty Clarke (11 April 2008). "CD: The Kooks, Konk". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "'Konk' is due out this spring". NME. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
  13. ↑ "The Kooks discuss second album". NME. 27 October 2006.
  14. ↑ "The Kooks start work on their second album". NME. 29 January 2007.
  15. 1 2 "The boys are back". Independent.ie. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Kooks Comment on Ex-Bassist: 'I Don't Think He Could Have Physically' Handled Touring". MTV.
  17. ↑ "The Kooks considered splitting in January". NME. 4 April 2008.
  18. ↑ "The Kooks to release two albums in one day". NME. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ex-JLS and the Kooks members on life after the band". BBC News. 13 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Kooks rock Turner Hall Ballroom". Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  21. ↑ "The Kooks: The Future Sounds Like Sunshine | Sentimentalist Magazine". Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  22. ↑ "The Kooks to release Jim Abbiss-produced album in early 2011 – video". NME. 23 August 2010.
  23. ↑ "Konk review". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  24. ↑ "The Kooks Konk Review". BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  25. ↑ "The Kooks, Konk". NME. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  26. ↑ "Interview: Max Rafferty". Rocksucker.co.uk.
  27. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  28. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Kooks – Konk" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Kooks – Konk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Kooks – Konk" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  31. ↑ "The Kooks Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  32. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kooks – Konk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  34. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  35. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  36. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 16, 2008". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  37. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  38. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  39. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  40. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  41. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Kooks – Konk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  42. ↑ "Kooks | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  43. ↑ "The Kooks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  44. ↑ "The Kooks Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  45. ↑ "The Kooks Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  46. ↑ "The Kooks Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  47. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2008". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  48. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2008". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  49. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2008". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  50. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  51. ↑ "The Irish Charts - 2008 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  52. ↑ "British album certifications – Kooks – Konk". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
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