The Kooks have announced details of their seventh album ‘Never/Know’. Check out the title track below along with our interview with frontman Luke Pritchard.
Due for release on May 9, ‘Never/Know’ follows 2022’s ‘10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark’ was was produced entirely by Pritchard – who told NME how the majority of the album came together in under five days.
“I spent so little time writing. I was still going about life, doing the dishes!” he explained. “I didn’t overthink it. It wasn’t necessarily strictly a stream of consciousness, but there was this vibe I was getting when I played it to my wife or my friends. It felt there was maybe a debut-ism to it… trying to get into flow state and let it ride – let it roll.”
The summery lead single ‘Never Know’ carries a much more minimalistic energy than their classic indie-rock anthem; its whistled intro and organ melody easing us into the new era of The Kooks. Capturing the excitement of unpredictability upon meeting his wife for the first time, Pritchard explained how the song is about “living in the moment.”
“You never know when you’re going to meet the love of your life, but also when it’s all going to end,” he told NME. “In that sense, it’s positive, but also about grabbing hold of the moment. The whole album’s got that kind of vibe running through it.”
Discussing the carefree tones to the track, he added: “Summer will be coming around soon. That’s the picture – you’re in a nifty little sports car that you can’t quite afford. You’ve got your best friend and your partner with you, you’re living for the moment and celebrating that, even though things are bad, we still live in a particularly amazing time. Maybe it will lift some of the January gloom!
“It’s that cliché, ‘Smile, and the world smiles with you.’ When I met my wife, honestly, I didn’t think that was ever going to happen for me. All of a sudden, you’re in a whole new universe, and the simple things are much more beautiful – that’s the miracle of life. It doesn’t mean it’s not hard on the way, but it’s about hope.”
Check out our full interview below, where Pritchard discussed the beauty of imperfection, why returning to Reading & Leeds is always “nerve-racking” and why The Kooks continue to resonate with young music fans.
NME: Hello Luke. How do you reflect on the album process, now you’re out the other side?
Luke Pritchard: “I felt like I had lost myself a little bit – I’d worked with a lot of different producers. I decided I wanted to go back to just writing on my own, especially the lyrics. I was trying to get my identity back, and see what happens – and I guess soul [music] came out! I think it’s because of where I’m at in my life. Having kids around, it’s a lot of joy amidst the crazy challenges and the doom and gloom. I was trying to transmit some of that.”
Has soul music always meant a lot to you?
“It’s not something I’ve necessarily dipped my toe into… we brought some amazing singers in. Having that community vibe, which is the soul thing – it’s not just a band, there’s more of a village going on. There’s danceability. What does it mean to me? It’s something I’ve always danced to and felt warmth from – it’s a really amazing niche of music.”
In 2022, you told us “you can try to be too clever when writing a love song” – was that the modus operandi for songs like ‘Sunny Baby’ and ‘Never Know’ on this record?
“As a songwriter, you don’t want to get in your own way – you can think of the big picture too quickly. Music is just a feeling, and that’s something I’ve been resonating with a lot. When you’re in it for 20 years, you start thinking too much about all the different pressures of the song, or what people are expecting. Sometimes you’ve got to let your subconscious do a lot of the work, because you deliver the message clearer. Sometimes you just have the oddest lyric that conveys what you’re feeling – but it can be out of context – and I think you’ve got to go with that.”
Have you always been comfortable trusting those gut instincts?
“I have gone through phases of not trusting myself and my taste as well. Every artist has these songs that you’re convinced are the best thing you’ve done, and it maybe doesn’t connect the way you thought. I’m in quite a peaceful state right now, and I think we’ve been very blessed, with this incredible support – especially from younger audiences – that has really kept us fresh. We’re trying to deliver a feeling, and on this album, it’s positive and romantic.”
‘Tough At The Top’ feels like a rare moment of defiance on the record…
“The chorus is almost like The Weeknd! It’s primal, and it was an expression of being able to [speak] for the first time, really, about the pressure release that I’ve had for years. Being quite young when it all started happening for us, and the way everything changed. It is a primal scream to the epicentre and the pressure of that.”
‘Compass Will Fracture’ has a ‘Bad Habit’ vibe to the verse – is it important to keep the DNA of The Kooks in your music, despite entering new territory?
“It’s got that slightly spooky blues thing – it’s quite Stones-y, we would get into that Stones slinkiness. When it came to the chorus, I thought, ‘I’m just gonna do a guitar riff – I haven’t done that for ages.’ It’s such a guitar record, but it’s also got a modernity to it, something fresh about it. I was almost searching for imperfection… ‘Compass Will Fracture’ was, like, the second take – very [Bob] Dylan style. I think that delivers spontaneity, which is what rock ‘n’ roll is, to me – it’s the danger of spontaneity. It’s about swagger and attitude, and I feel like I got that back myself.”
Have you figured out why Gen Z continues to exponentially fall in love with The Kooks, beyond the obvious answer of TikTok?
“I’m a musician, so I don’t know how to analyse it too much. You talk about DNA – we still have that coming-of-age feel when we play music. We still have it. Hopefully, it’s just because we’re keeping fresh, we’re evolving, and we’re quite open to new things. We don’t think about it overly, we just try to play with a kind of spirit that works with people of all ages, really.”
Maybe The Wombats or Two Door Cinema Club have a better idea?
“Sometimes, we just [give each other] a little look, like, ‘Yeah, we got it.’”
You’re returning to Reading & Leeds this summer – despite its ever-changing line-up, there’s always a home for British guitar music…
“I’m so thrilled to see some amazing female acts as well, like Lola Young and Chappell Roan. ‘Pink Pony Club’ was [initially released] five years ago, right? I remember hearing about both of them a long time ago… I think Reading & Leeds is quite trailblazing. Even though it’s got the backbone of indie and Britpop, they take some risks with putting on some real current stuff. It brings young people to see some of the older stuff, as well. Reading has some of the best crowds – I mean, they go bananas.
“I find it quite nerve-wracking, playing there because we’ve been around for a minute. You do have to prove yourself a little bit, [coming up] against the really current, ‘cool’ stuff. I can be a bit nervous, but that’s a good thing. I’ll be working on the setlist – I’ve got some ideas.”
You were privately educated at Bedales, the same school that The Last Dinner Party’s Abigail Morris attended. They’ve had ‘industry plant’ allegations levelled at them – often linked back to her private education – what do you make of them? Did The Kooks experience similar things, or is their situation mired with misogyny?
“I think people should be careful to judge too harshly, when you don’t know the situation. I feel bad that they’ve gone through that. We all know that there’s nepotism and people that have a privileged upbringing – that has always happened in the music industry, like any other industry. But it doesn’t mean that a song isn’t a great song.
“We had it with going to BRIT School. We thought we should make t-shirts saying, ‘The Kooks Stage School’… now, that has changed a lot, where people aren’t so much like that. I respect anyone who can get on stage and play, and someone who can write music. You don’t know what they’ve been through in their life. But we also do live in an age where [cancel culture] is really common, and it’s being talked about, how people can anonymously say these things. I don’t think anyone feels that way in the industry, so they’ve got a lot of support from people like ourselves.”
You hosted an indie disco night to launch the album – what purpose do they still hold in 2025?
“There’s a nostalgia to it, but they’re still going on, and our records are still being spun there – so it’s a nice thing. It’s for the fans… a really intimate experience of a proper indie night. We’ve got some good cocktails with some fun names.”
Kook-tails?
“That’s good. We’ve got the ‘Never Know’-groni – I didn’t come up with that. We’ve got some alcohol free ones too.”
Finally, any update on the sci-fi novel that you told us you wanted to write in 2022?
“Not really.”
Did having kids get in the way?
“I got in the way of myself, to circle back! But yeah, one day, I will write a sci-fi novel. I did start it, I re-read it, and it wasn’t great. The story arc is quite good. I reckon [you’ve got] 20 years to write your first novel? I’ve got albums to make!”
The Kooks’ new album ‘Never/Know’ is out May 9 via Virgin Music Group. Check out the full tracklist below.
1. ‘Never Know’
2. ‘Sunny Baby’
3. ‘All Over The World’
4. ‘If They Could Only Know’
5. ‘China Town’
6. ‘Compass Will Fracture’
7. ‘Tough At The Top’
8. ‘Arrow Through Me’
9. ‘Echo Chamber’
10. ‘Let You Go’
11. ‘Talk About It’
Check out The Kooks’ full 2025 UK dates below and visit here for tickets and information.
JULY
11 – TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow
AUGUST
22 – Reading Festival, Richfield Avenue
23 – Leeds Festival, Bramham Park