Music: Tick of Time - The Kooks

Tick of Time

Artist: The Kooks

Album: Konk (Special Edition)

Genre: Alternative

Release Date: 2008

Plays: 372

This track is fab! You think it's starting with an intertwining melody, slow and steady but then this pretty little tune ends before it's even begun and the band dismantle into laughter, coughing and chat ("Are we recording?", "sh*t, I've lost my pick") which gives the track an unedited and liberal feel making me think of a band rehearsal in someone's front room. A bare-bones band with a few guitars (bass/acoustic/semi-acoustic), a stripped down kit squeezed in around the mismatched chairs from the other room. Wires in a scrambled mess on the floor plugged into amps here there and everywhere. A couple of bottles of beer open, crumbs on many a surface. This track is a recording of a jam (which is why I've really tried to call it a track not a song, because it doest feel finished) it's not a polished single and that is what makes it a gem in my eyes; even the structure of the song is unstable, varying in repeats in different sections. You hear the guitars tuning, you can hear the head turning away from mic to the rest of the band to casually bring the song in with a count.

The harsh aggressive voices of this band shout the music at you and you can't help but listen! The verses are underpinned with a plodding guitar beat (strummed on 1 and 3) which your head bobs along to as the bass drum kicks in on the 2 and 4 of the bar giving a lovely strong floor to the song. The 'line and repeat' section between verses are a great; cleansing the palette between verses, followed by a small guitar break, topped with a garnish of 3 descending chromatic notes into the second verse all accumulating as a delicious little feature.

There could have been a chorus after the first verse but I really like the double verse with a break in between; without this the song may have moved too quickly! And then there are the harmonies. Unstructured and free, rough and raw which along with their regional accents really make this song; it's what I really like about this track. They are the kinds of harmonies I'd play around with if I were in the studio with them and it enforces that band practice vibe. When the chorus comes, it has 3 layers of harmony: the main melody, the upper and lower harmony. They fill the space that may have been present with the pared down band and acoustic style.

The harmonies aren't the only great feature in the chorus, the bass bounces in for the first time too. Playing between the drums and guitars it's so delightful to tune into and I didn't really notice it until I really started listening in, I suddenly went "I hear something funky, when did funky happen!?". Basses are cool. The percussive backdrop to the song with the bass, shaker, tambourine and bass drum rattling, shaking, thumping and plodding all the way through, paired with the rhythmic strumming makes a gloriously full track. I think this is what makes it so easy to listen to. Just the voice, just the guitar chords or just the beat and percussion would fall flat on it's face, but the seamless construction of all three aspects are the key to why I love this song so much.

The chorus returns after just one verse to draw the song to a close and repeats the first section; again liberally extending the song a little. It feels right. As the pace slows into the end with rattling tambourine withheld chords on guitar I almost expect the same laughter at the end as there was at the beginning of the track... but it doesn't come and I miss it so click play again.

Hope you enjoyed,

Naomi xx