Kooks singles reviewed
The Kooks
“Eddie’s Gun”/”Naive”
(Virgin UK)
They’re already crowning a successor to Arctic Monkeys in the U.K.
Having sold 450,000 copies of their debut within four months, The Kooks have a stranglehold on the British press, leading to teaser copies of first and fourth singles, “Eddie’s Gun” and “Naive,” in American hands. Unfairly, the four songs on the two singles come in and out so quickly they don’t even remove their jackets. Using the marketing scheme of “they don’t belong to a scene,” The Kooks paint in broad power pop strokes on all 1:57 of “Eddie’s Gun,” with hints of those dandy Arctic Monkeys in the unruly guitar parts. “California” dials into their alleged quirky side, though it’s a lighter mod than scouse counterparts The Coral or The Zutons. “Naive,” the longest of these track by nearly a minute, taps into a highly mainstream, adult-alternative wicky-wicky poised to cement ever elusive crossover appeal. The full package seems to arrive in B-side “Be Mine,” which is again mod lite, but completely assured and hip-swayin’.
— Steve Forstneger
