Let's Go Sunshine is the fifth studio album by British rock band The Kooks. The follow-up to the 2014 album Listen, it was released on 31 August 2018 through Lonely Cat, making it the band's first album release on an independent label The album charted at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart, giving the band their highest charted release for a decade after their second albumKonk which reached Number One in 2008. It is the third and last studio album recorded with bassist Pete Denton, whose departure from the band was announced on 3 January 2019. The album contains the five released singles "All the Time", "No Pressure", "Fractured and Dazed", "Four Leaf Clover" and the most recent single "Chicken Bone".
Recording
Luke Pritchard had already begun talking about The Kooks' fifth album in 2017 while promoting the band's greatest hits compilation, The Best of... So Far, which contained two new songs that were produced by Brandon Friesen who was also overseeing the recording of their new album along with Chris Seefried. Consisting of songs written by Pritchard while the other band members spent time with their families, the new album was deemed to be more of a band effort, as opposed to Listen which was constructed individually. Initially, the band had started recording for their fifth album in 2015 with the intent of continuing the flow from the previous record Listen. Unhappy with the results they decided to scrap the material in favor of starting over in a new direction. According to Pritchard, "We’d started out with Inflo, working in the same way we had on Listen, and one day we all looked at each other and said 'This isn’t working'." Pritchard spoke to the Evening Standard about his writing process for the new album: “I really went on a mission to write the best songs I’d ever written before bringing them to the band. I stewed over every word. It had to be our Rubber Soul, Lola, Definitely Maybe. Proper British lineage. I came from a dark place at the start, had a lotta heartbreak, and then falling in love in the middle of the album...the lyrics reflect that". Pritchard also spoke to Clash about external pressure on the band to produce more mainstream music and the band's resistance to the idea. He said, "On this album it wasn’t like there were discussions in the band on this, but there were a lot of people around us saying things like, oh, you should go more modern, or use this producer. We made a very clear decision to stick to our guns, and to stick to being what we think we stand for." The band decided to write more of the music and in particular the lyrics before entering the studio to record, as opposed to writing on the fly in the studio as with their previous record. Regarding the choice of Friesen as producer, with whom the band started working with in early 2016, Pritchard said, "He was looking to make a great rock record and that’s what we wanted. It was exciting to work with something new, we didn’t want the guy who’d done the last Kasabian record, we wanted to be outsiders together, that gave us a lot of fight and a lot of creative freedom." Originally, Pritchard had wanted to name the album Weight of the World after one of its songs. He said, "In my opinion 'Weight Of The World" became the pinnacle moment of the new record because this song represents what the entire album stands for: letting go of the past, letting go of the youth. But I found it was too negative for a title, whereas Let’s Go Sunshine feels really positive. And that’s what the album really is in the end."
Critical reception
Upon the release of "Let's Go Sunshine" critical reception to the album was mixed. Review aggregate website Metacritic scored the album 59/100 based on 7 reviews. In All Music's review by Neil Z. Yeung said of the album; " a mostly tame affair packed with patient groovers and some lush production" although he was slightly critical of the albums sentimentality; "it gets bogged down by the contemplative exercises, but resuscitated by the festival-sized anthems punctuated throughout". Clash gave the album a mixed review. Writing; "Let’s Go Sunshine’ is a solid album, though not groundbreaking" but did complement the band on trying new things; "whilst it’s not The Kooks we know and love, it’s still mostly remains true to the indie sound whilst being experimental in parts". Another mixed review came from Exclaim! reviewer Beth Bowles. She was critical of the band apparently playing it safe; "Let's Go Sunshine scarcely veers into experimental territory, and as a result, the tracks lack unique characteristics" and went on to criticise the album as "boring" stating; "While collectively the songs are happy-go-lucky, giving off a carefree tone, at 15 tracks, Let's Go Sunshine gets boring quickly".
