Listen to Junk Of the Heart (Happy)

Junk Of The Heart marks a rebirth for The Kooks. Written and recorded in London and Los Angeles, the songs came in a great rush, with Luke playing guitar as the band’s long-time producer, Tony Hoffer (a man so integral to the band Luke calls him, “our George Martin”) built beats and basslines and atmospheres on his laptop. The songs they created were then taken to the band (including new bassist Pete Denton who joined towards the end of the recording of Konk) who fleshed out all the ideas and added a whole new layer of invention. What they’ve ended up with is a string of bright and emotional, deeply melodic pop gems that draw on a whole world of new influences from electronic music and the Rolling Stones to luscious string quartets and hip-hop.