The Kooks-Konk

Once again, I'm back with a review. This one is a little tough to do too, because one thing you have to remember is that no matter how much you like a band, you have to be brutally honest and overall, unmerciful. So, Konk, by the Kooks is on the chopping block for this post.

 

Konk, first of all, was named after the studio that recorded the record. That's just a little background information. This was the Kooks sophomore record (succeeding Inside In/Inside Out which could be considered as one of the best records of this decade thus far) and it had a lot of hype to live up to, due to the success of Inside In/Inside Out. 

Now, I'm not going to say that this was a bad record. This record had a lot of solid building blocks in it. The guitar throughout the entire record was impressive to say the least, and thank Kooks' guitarist Hugh Harris for that. The guitar work really stands out, especially in the song Gap and as well as See The Sun (cleverly related to the blog name.) A lot of the guitar stands out though, not because of swill solos, but rather eccentric hammer ons and slides that give it an extra pizzaz, rather then over-the-top solos that drag the songs out.

 

Now, I have to bring up the lyrics that Luke Pritchard wrote for this record. Now, I'm definitely not saying that the lyrics sucked, but compared to that of Matchbox (From Inside In/Inside Out) and other examples from that record and various EP's they released. I mean, Inside In/Inside Out was just far superior lyrically, because on Konk, Luke wrote songs like Do You Wanna which was a great guitar song, but the incredibly repetitive chorus of "Do you wanna/Do you wanna/Do you wanna make love to me?" It just gets hard to listen to after a minute and a half of the same fourteen words over and over again.

 

I do actually suggest buying this record. But, I'd get a better feel for the Kooks prior to doing so, because I didn't really think this was the Kooks. I give this three and a half stars, based souly on the lack of deepness in the lyrics. So, if your at the record store or BestBuy or whatever it may be, get Inside In/Inside Out first, and if you own it, get Konk, but get it with special bonus disk Rak because it has songs on it that are like the ones on the freshman record (such as Watching the Ships Roll In).

Kevin

Jakob Dylan-Seeing Things

Although, yes, I usually do straight-edged articles that are accurate, legitimate interview articles, I decided that I would do a review. Also, although this record has not been released quite yet, I have heard it. I have to say, not quite Jakob Dylan anymore. Nevertheless, it's not too bad of a record.

 

He started out playing with a small time band...kind of, called the Wallflowers as their lead singer. You know, he doesn't sound anywhere near what his dad (the one and only Bob Dylan) did/does. And if that man can sing is a very debatable topic. There is common ground between father and son. The deepness of their lyrics. They both were masters of the pen, and were able to take nothing in a song, and turn it into something.

Voice-wise, Jakob does sound the same. I think giving up and flying solo made him start writing considerable deeper lyrics, and although to be a successful musician, you have to be able to back those lyrics up with a good voice, he has turned into a good and solid solo musician. Meaning that the lyrics he wrote has to be able to balance out with the voice, to stick in the mind of the listeners, so that they can see what the artist was trying to accomplish with this song, or that verse, or that stanza. So on and so fourth.

It wasn't a very disappointing record, but if you're a big Wallflowers' fan for Jakob, then you may be just a little bit disappointed. It's good, but not great. There's small blotches in song placement, and the record does get a little bit repetitive at some points. It is a record though, that you can just sit down and listen to, and really ponder on the lyrics this guy writes.