Pitchfork

Named after Kinks legend Ray Davies' Konk Studios-- in which, it probably goes without saying, it was largely put to tape-- Konk is the sophomore LP from Brighton, England's the Kooks. The quartet will release the new disc, produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air), on April 14 in the UK on Virgin and April 15 in the U.S. on Astralwerks.

If you're just plain kooky for the Kooks and you dwell in their homeland, you can opt for a double-disc version of Konk that includes a second set of tunes entitled Rak (also named after a studio). A single for "Always Where I Need to Be" hits UK shops March 31.

Those Kooks sure do love to tour! Or at least, that's what we gather from the massive string of dates they have lined up. With upcoming gigs in the UK, mainland Europe, North America, and Japan, if you haven't caught up with this Konk-y Kookery yet, it may be unavoidable.

Konk:

01 See the Sun
02 Always Where I Need to Be
03 Mr. Maker
04 Do You Wanna
05 Gap
06 Love It All
07 Stormy Weather
08 Sway
09 Shine On
10 One Last Time
11 Tick of Time
12 All Over Town [hidden track]

Rak:

01 Watching the Ships Roll In
02 Eaten by Your Lover
03 No Longer
04 Fa La La La La
05 Nothing Ever Changes
06 By My Side
07 Hatful of Love
08 See the Sun (Alternate Version)
09 Brooklyn (Home Demo)

Kooks:

03-20 Tokyo, Japan - Liquid Room
04-15 Paris, France - Elysée Montmarte
04-16 Bourges, France - Le Phénix (Le Printemps de Bourges Festival)
04-19 Milan, Italy - Magazzini Generali
04-22 Manchester, England - Apollo
04-23 Swindon, England - Oasis
04-24 Newport, Wales - Newport Centre
04-25 Hull, England - Hull Arena
04-27 Birmingham, England - Academy
04-28 Sheffield, England - Academy
04-29 Edinburgh, Scotland - Corn Exchange
05-01 London, England - Brixton Academy
05-02 London, England - Brixton Academy
05-03 Plymouth, England - Pavillion
05-05 Dublin, Ireland - Castle
05-18 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
05-19 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
05-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
05-25 George, WA - The Gorge (Sasquatch! Festival)
05-26 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
05-28 Salt Lake City, UT - Avalon Theatre
05-29 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
05-31 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Café
06-01 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
06-02 Chicago, IL - Vic
06-04 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
06-05 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
06-06 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
06-10 New York, NY - Terminal 5
06-11 New York, NY - Terminal 5
06-15 Isle of Wight, England - Isle of Wight Festival
06-17 Cologne, Germany - Palladium
06-18 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
06-20 Stuttgart, Germany - Southside festival
06-22 Hamburg, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-24 Arendal, Norway - Hove Festival
07-05 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
07-06 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter
07-12 Balado, Scotland - T in the Park
08-16 Chelmsford, England - Hylands Park (V Festival)
08-17 Stafford, England - Weston Park (V Festival)