The Kooks, Mean Fiddler, 23 March 2006

The perfect antidote to a seemingly endless winter, Brighton four-piece The Kooks brought a ray of summer sunshine to the Mean Fiddler last Thursday.

Not having heard much of their material before the gig, I awoke on Friday morning with the four piece’s jangly guitar riffs and catchy lyrics bouncing in my head- I haven’t been able to get them out of there since.

It was all great tunes and very little banter during The Kooks’ 45 minute set. Scruffy curly-topped 20-year old Luke Prichard bounced all over the stage climbing onto any piece of equipment he could see.

Their melodies were toe-tappingly addictive and their thousand-strong army of teenage fans sang along to all their songs. The highlight was their last single, You Don’t Love Me, which shows youthful awareness rarely seen since songs from Supergrass’ and Blur’s debut albums.

The Kooks are growing in popularity at unstoppable pace. They’ve already sold out two nights at the Astoria in May. By the time the summer’s festivals come around, their feel-good sound will be perfect for the main stage.