The Kooks have announced their new album ‘Never/Know’ for May

The Kooks have announced their new album ‘Never/Know’, set for release on 9th May via Virgin Music Group.

The indie-rock band have also shared the album’s first single ‘Never Know’, accompanied by a lyric video, built around themes of new romance. “It’s a love song about a cute meet with someone unpredictable. I like the idea of it being played in a convertible on a road trip somewhere ridiculous. Because really, you never know,” says frontman Luke Pritchard.

The 11-track album, largely self-produced by Pritchard, represents a return to the band’s creative origins. “It’s not about going back to the first album’s sound, but to the roots of our influences and asking, ‘What is the identity of this band?’” Pritchard explains. “The whole thing was to just forget that the past had happened. What kind of music do we want to make, and how do we make it feel natural?”

‘Never/Know’ features contributions from guitarist Hugh Harris, who collaborated with Pritchard to capture the spontaneous energy of their earlier work. “At the heart of it, we both want the same thing, and that’s very powerful,” Harris shares.

The record comprises eleven tracks – including a cover of Paul McCartney and Wings’ ‘Arrow Through Me’ – with all but one produced by Pritchard, while track nine, ‘Echo Chamber’, was produced by J Lloyd.

The full tracklist for ‘Never/Know’ reads:

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’