Junk of the Heart is the third album from british Indie band The Kooks

The Kooks

The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...

. It was released in Europe on September 9, 2011, and in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2011 by Virgin Records

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

. The first single, "Is It Me

Is It Me

"Is It Me" is a song by British indie rock band The Kooks. It was released on 4 September 2011.-Track listing:*;iTunes digital EP...

" was released on September 4, 2011 and the second single, "Junk Of The Heart (Happy)" was released on November 6, 2011.

Writing and recording

In April 2009, The Kooks revealed to BBC's Newsbeat that they were working on their third studio album. Frontman Luke Pritchard told Newsbeat, "We kind of barricaded ourselves in the countryside for a few weeks—stayed at some friend's who have a cottage in Norfolk." Pritchard recently revealed that over two weeks there, the band only managed to make one new song: "Eskimo Kiss" (Track 11). Drummer Paul Garred left the band in late 2009, due to a nerve problem in his arm, and was temporarily replaced by Chris Prendergast for live shows. However, Paul returned for the recording sessions in late 2010, while continuing to not tour with the band, as Pritchard recently stated his injury "turned into a phsychological thing". After hiring and firing new producer Jim Abyss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Adele) despite having some "really good sessions" together, the band returned to old Producer Tony Hoffer who gave them a "new direction" and they recorded the album in a more contemporary style to previously. In January 2011, Pritchard announced that they had recorded fourteen new tracks. The band announced via social media that they finished the final touches on 30 March. Finally, the album name was announced as Junk of the Heart (The title of the opening track) and tracklist details released, with a release date of 12 September 2011 for England. The album was produced by Tony Hoffer

Tony Hoffer

Tony Hoffer is an American producer, guitarist, and music mixer who is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air...

. The first single taken from the album is titled "Is It Me" in Europe and "Junk of the Heart" elsewhere.

Critical Reception

Spin

Spin (magazine)

Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

gave the album a 6/10, calling the tracks "both their best and blandest yet." Reviewer Barry Walters added, "The middle of the road was always their destiny, it seems, and they arrive with blatantly pleasant but character-free ditties."

Album contenders

Weight Of The World, Winds Of Change, Window to the Soul, Strange One, Rainbow, Carried Away and The Saboteur were among many contenders to be put on the album, however many of them came from earlier recording sessions with Jim Abyss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Adele). Despite having some "really good sessions" with Abyss, in the end they went back and "found a new direction" with old producer Tony Hoffer and decided to scrap the earlier sessions. Despite this, Luke brought in one of these songs, "The Saboteur", to BBC1 Zane Lowe's radio program in an interview and released it as a free single on its own. Although this song "didn't quite fit" on the album it was eventually added as a bonus track, along with "Carried Away", which came from the Tony Hoffer sessions.

B-Sides

Is It Me

Is It Me

"Is It Me" is a song by British indie rock band The Kooks. It was released on 4 September 2011.-Track listing:*;iTunes digital EP...

:
| Winds Of Change (The Magic Shop, NYC)
| Outstanding (Demo)
| Stormy Weather (Live In Hartlepool)

Junk Of The Heart:
| Pumped Up Kicks (BBC Live Version)
| Eskimo Kiss (Acoustic Live Version)
| Runaway (Acoustic Live Version)

Track listing

All songs written by The Kooks. Produced By Tony Hoffer ("Good Times" Produced By Jim Abbis)

Charts

Charts (2011)	Peak position
Belgian Albums Chart	34
Canadian Albums Chart	54
Dutch Albums Chart	6
Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...	41
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	10