The Kooks were always a poor man’s version of Razorlight, who themselves were a poor man’s version of The Libertines, though they managed to carve themselves out an ardent fanbase by virtue of their debut album Inside/Out featuring a few half-decent pop tracks, that were destined to be on infinite rotation in the playlists of 30-year-old Indie Club DJs throughout the UK.
The Kooks disappeared off the radar following their 2008 sophomore LP Konk, and only after hearing news that they’ve released a new track was I alerted to the fact that they actually released a third album, Junk of the Heart, in 2011. So after clearly falling from the brink of relevancy, they’re back again, this time with “R&B-inspired” single ‘Down’, which is every bit as excruciating as you’d imagine.
Featuring a chorus refrain of “down down diggy down down diggy diggy down down diggy down down diggy”, this brainchild of floppy-haired band frontman Luke Pritchard and hip-hop producer Inflo put me off my lunch.
Listen to the track below. The band are currently performing at the SXSW festival, where they’re previewing new tracks from their upcoming new album. View Crave Online‘s extensive coverage at the festival, including exclusive performances and interviews, right here.
