- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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On most of Inside In/Inside Out, the band sounds like a more energetic Thrills or a looser Sam Roberts Band, maybe even a less severe Arctic Monkeys at times.
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The Kooks take elements from their up-and-coming peers and a name from Hunky Dory, achieving an adolescent universality that's at once their strongest pitch and greatest failing.
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UncutBreathless power-pop offset by an innuendo-laden lyricism. [Mar 2006, p.98]
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MojoAdventurous of chord-voicing but never showy, the band nail most of their zesty songs in well under three minutes. [Mar 2006, p.92]
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Q MagazineDisplay[s] a broad musical taste that brings elements of Jack Johnson-styled folk and XTC jerk-pop to their unbridled, youthful joie de vivre. [Mar 2006, p.107]
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New Musical Express (NME)An eclectic but thoroughly satisfying record. [21 Jan 2006, p.35]
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There are a couple of decent Brit-pop numbers... but the rest is utterly forgettable, shoddily produced retro rock that at its worst sounds like a Brighton-accented version of the Spin Doctors, minus the hit songs and amusing facial hair.
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A blindingly bright future beckons.
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An impressive collection of polished pop that leans towards the 1980s English ska tradition while holding tight to the indie holy grail of an easy sing-along chorus against jangly guitars.
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They are a less irreverent and more melodic Art Brut, swapping that band’s caustic wit for a far nicer type of honesty.
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For now, at least, these kids are all right, and bubbling with ideas.
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SpinThe Kooks... boast an ingenious pop-rock sound. [Nov 2006, p.102]
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Entertainment WeeklyThe band's great strength is its surging rhythm section, which tilts the songs twoard the dance floor and brings freshness and oomph to chord progressions and tunes we've been hearing since... 1966 and 1977. [6 Oct 2006, p.70]
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An almost-perfect blend of '60s-style Britpop, '90s-style Britpop, and the post-punk of the new millennium, Inside In/Inside Out is the rare debut that features not only the kind of exuberance/naivete that only bunch of nineteen-year-olds could produce, but also the thoughtful consistency characteristic of seasoned professionals.
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BlenderThe scholarship is too obvious at times... But at their streamlined best... it's like Britpop's glory years never waned. [Oct 2006, p.137]
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FilterIrresistible. [#22, p.93]
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Greater things may well be in the pipeline for The Kooks, but this is sadly lacking in anything to fall - or indeed remain - in love with.
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UrbMagnificent. [Sep 2006, p.136]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 67 out of 80
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Mixed: 5 out of 80
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Negative: 8 out of 80
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Feb 16, 2012
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Apr 13, 2011
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TJSep 29, 2007