The Kooks
“KONK”
RATING: 3 1/2 EXCLAMATION POINTS
The Kooks aim to take their place in the Brit rock tradition, not monkey with it a lot. They believe that tangy, tuneful songs built on guitars, bass and drums, “ooo-oooh” and “sha la la” harmonies and syncopated hand-claps is all you need to express the bittersweet brew of youthful emotion. “Konk” should elevate the Kooks near the level of Franz Ferdinand among current practitioners. They’re not quite as hooky and dynamic, but they’re effortlessly buoyant and heartfelt, and “Do You Wanna” stomps along with an infectious force that evokes “Take Me Out.” [RICHARD CROMELIN, L.A. TIMES]
Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater
“WEST SIDE STRUT”
RATING: 3 EXCLAMATION POINTS
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The “West Side” of the title refers, of course, to the blues hot spot in Chicago where Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater cut his musical teeth in the ’50s after arriving from the South. Clearwater, the 73-year-old guitar-slinger and songwriter, delivers hard-driving Windy City blues, but as usual he proves capable of much more: swinging R&B, soul-tinged balladry, acoustic country blues and socially conscious gospel uplift. [NICK CRISTIANO, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER]