The Kooks are back, with a song that sounds...well, just like The Kooks really. The band who released their debut album on the very same day that Arctic Monkeys released theirs obviously aren't taking the Sheffield band's template of progression and evolution onto their second effort.
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Always Where I Need To Be, it just sounds very much like a band going through the motions. It's catchy enough, and will no doubt be on every radio station in the country quite soon, but there's precious little originality on display, right down to the 'do do do' chorus. It sounds so similar to an outtake from Inside In/Inside Out that you wonder why they bothered.
The first album may have had its critics, but at least the songs on there displayed some urgency, some drive and some hunger, none of which can be found here. A potential candidate for most underwhelming comeback of the year.
