Amidst the post-Monkeys guitar-glut, The Kooks 2006 debut Inside In/Inside Out was a breath of fresh airโ€“ a masterclass in breathless pop composition concerned with late night fumbling and, erm, erectile dysfunction.

Two years and two million album sales later- and minus raffish bassist Max Rafferty- their sugar-rush enthusiasm has dissolved almost entirely. โ€œDonโ€™t heap this praise on me/I know I donโ€™t deserve itโ€ groans Luke Pritchard on โ€œGapโ€, while a jaded โ€œLove It Allโ€ acts as a bittersweet counterpoint to the furious optimism of โ€œSee the Worldโ€.

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Tunes will never be a problem-โ€œSwayโ€ and โ€œShine Onโ€ are guaranteed to provide a festival frisson โ€“ but hearing Pritchard sigh โ€œABCDEF and G/That reminds me of when we were freeโ€ in a mournful โ€œOne Last Timeโ€ reminds you that, like Supergrass before them, young bands often have the worst growing pains.

PAUL MOODY