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Plus One
The 11 best songs by The Kooks
Ahead of a summer of festivals and their biggest UK arena tour to date, we rank the best songs by The Kooks
One of this island’s finest exports in the indie sphere, The Kooks are approaching 20 years since their seminal debut, Inside In/Inside Out, was released – on the same day as Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, no less. Nevertheless, the Brighton outfit helmed by founding members frontman Luke Pritchard and guitarist Hugh Harris remain an ever-present force in the genre.
Constantly piercing into new generations alongside their 00s indie compatriots Two Door Cinema Club and The Wombats, The Kooks’ continually increasing stock means they’re heading out on their biggest UK arena tour to date this October – including their first shows at Manchester’s Co-op Live and London’s O2 Arena. After festival appearances at TRNSMT and Reading & Leeds this summer, these shows will confirm one of the biggest years in the band’s history.
With their seventh album, Never/Know, also set to land next month, there’s plenty of soulful new material to balance out their timeless indie classics. Here is our rundown of the songs that have defined their career.
11. ‘Ooh La’
(Inside In / Inside Out, 2006)
Rumoured to be written about Pritchard’s ex-girlfriend Katie Melua (“She was such a good girl to me”), ‘Ooh La’ is one of the more unsettling, stark numbers on their happy-go-lucky debut Inside In / Inside Out. If it is about the British singer-songwriter who went platinum four times for her 2007 album Pictures, the final remark “The world just chewed her up and spat her out” arguably still rings true in 2025, with the way artists are still squeezed through the music industry machine.
10. ‘All The Time’
(Let’s Go Sunshine, 2018)
It’s testament to the strength of The Kooks’ early material that ‘All The Time’ is the only song written after 2014 to find a place on this list. Nevertheless, the lead single of fifth album Let’s Go Sunshine exudes maturity and class, as it builds from a bare-bones acoustic intro to its euphoric chorus – via a slick, hollow bassline. Inspired by his grandparents – and how two people can remain madly in love with each other for six decades – sometimes, such emotions are best expressed in their purest lyrical form.
9. ‘Is It Me’
(Junk Of The Heart, 2011)
Carrying light shades of Phoenix’s 2009 hit ‘Lasso’, the manner in which the chorus of ‘Is It Me’ kicks in gives this song a dynamic energy that propels it onto this list. While organ-like synths characterise the verse, the sense of urgency and panic in the lyrics (“Bring me a pig’s heart / And a glass of wine”) is mirrored by the frenetic chords, unbottling the tension almost instantaneously. Structurally, it’s one of The Kooks’ finest songs, with respect to navigating that push and pull.
8. ‘You Don’t Love Me’
(Inside In / Inside Out, 2006)
You wouldn’t necessarily associate the phrase ‘sucker punch’ with The Kooks. Nonetheless, when the opening jabbed chords of ‘You Don’t Love Me’ hit like a boxer’s uppercut, we’re treated to Pritchard’s sassier side for the first time on The Kooks’ timeless debut LP. Its sweaty music video mirrors the on-the-nose nature of the song, shot in black and white while the crowd down below descends into pandemonium.
7. ‘Junk Of The Heart (Happy)’
(Junk Of The Heart, 2011)
Few drum intro grooves in the British indie world are as recognisable as the title-track and opener of The Kooks’ third album Junk Of The Heart. “I wanna make you happy / I wanna make you alive” – just another one of their top lines that are destined to be screamed back, just before the sun sets on a glorious summer’s day. To this day, it comfortably stands tall as the best track on that record.
6. ‘Seaside’
(Inside In / Inside Out, 2006)
Clocking in at a mere 99 seconds, the beauty of The Kooks’ flagship ballad is that it resists the temptation to be drawn out for hours on end. The fundamental moment to get on someone’s shoulders at a festival, it’ll be interesting to see if the combination of Pritchard and an acoustic guitar can ever recreate such magic.
5. ‘Around Town’
(Listen, 2014)
The catalyst for the forays into jazz, R&B and gospel that characterised parts of Listen, ‘Around Town’ was the eureka moment for The Kooks’ fourth album. Dominated by its choral chant, it was the second song by the band to gain a place on the FIFA soundtrack (in 2014/15) – the other can be found further down this list. “Will you love me when the chips are down?” Pritchard repeatedly asks (in the most British way possible), over one of their most left-field – but killer – choruses to date.
4. ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’
(Inside In / Inside Out, 2006)
Still occupying a staple spot on any indie disco playlist, there’s still something beautiful in 2025 about the way a room of people can chant “But uh oh” in unison. One to sway to, with your arms around your mates’ shoulders, the fifth single from Inside In / Inside Out shines in the effortless simplicity of its lyrics, structure and the twangy guitar solo that’s thrown in for good measure. By numbers, their second biggest song – and deservedly occupying fourth place on this list.
3. ‘Always Where I Need To Be’
(Konk, 2008)
Often serving as the curtain-raiser in the live set, this song is The Kooks at their most gritty (if you’re starting a mosh pit, this would be the occasion). Featuring on FIFA 09 alongside Kasabian’s ‘Fast Fuse’ and MGMT’s ‘Kids’, the song showcases the horsepower The Kooks can generate, if and when they do choose to lean into the distortion. Whatever the initial meaning, the lyric “I’m always where I need to be,” can still resonate powerfully with people from all walks of life today, as we all navigate our own individual journeys in this precarious world.
2. ‘Bad Habit’
(Listen, 2014)
Arguably one of their more underappreciated hits, ‘Bad Habit’ acts as the perfect middle ground between the upbeat indie-rock grooves and slower acoustic cuts on this list – perhaps opening the floodgates for songs like this month’s ‘Compass Will Fracture’ to exist. With co-production from Inflo and a sync appearance on The Vampire Diaries, the song’s music video – zigzagging between an online sex chat room and webcam – remains one of their most striking to date. “You know I wish I had it all”, sighs Pritchard. The song pretty much does.
1. ‘Naive’
(Inside In / Inside Out, 2006)
Could it seriously be anything else? Three quarters of the way to surpassing one billion streams, The Kooks’ definitive anthem is woven into the very fabric of essential British indie listening – not far behind ‘Mr. Brightside’ or ‘Wonderwall’ at this point. Initially reaching number five on the UK singles chart, the song hasn’t fallen from grace ever since – with Pritchard’s signature whine and the abrasive open strumming serving to encapsulate The Kooks in a nutshell.
