Like their contemporaries Razorlight, The Kooks showed much promise on their debut, and made good on that promise on their second album.  The Kook's follow up to 2006's Inside In/Inside Out is an ode to British rock 'n' roll.  They channel everyone from The Beatles and The Kinks to The Jam and Oasis, yet they manage to carve out a sound that is distinctly their own.  Every track here is a winner, especially the first five tracks, "See the Sun" to "Gap" are flawless.  The band manages to capture a sound and energy that is timeless and never feels like the “of the moment” or dated. 

Konk (named after Ray Davies’ studio) doesn’t break any new ground musically or lyrically, but it doesn’t need to.  These songs unabashedly celebrate British guitar rock over the last 40-odd years.  Something like this could easily be construed as derivative or coldly calculated, but The Kooks breeze through this album with so much energy and love for the music that it is never an issue.  Konk is certainly a contender for one of the best records of 2008.