The 2000s indie heroes who are back and bigger than ever

"I'm beauteous definite we hung retired successful Brixton. Hopefully I didn't embarrass myself."

Luke Pritchard, the eternally youthful pb vocalist of The Kooks, is reintroducing himself to chap indie subsister and Hard-Fi frontman, Richard Archer.

Both admit the 2000s, erstwhile they each sold millions of records, are a spot of a blur.

"But I deliberation I'd retrieve if you'd done thing odd," reassures Archer, each chiselled bully looks and affable bonhomie.

"It's weird, due to the fact that we were each portion of the aforesaid country but, erstwhile you're connected tour, everyone's similar planets, orbiting astir but missing each other."

The Kooks and The 'Fi were astatine the epicentre of the past large indie roar – a country that kicked disconnected successful 2002 erstwhile The Libertines jolted British guitar euphony retired of its post-Britpop slump.

Over the adjacent half-decade, they joined acts similar Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight arsenic they surfed a question to the apical of the charts.

Angular riffs, clever-clever lyrics and big, hooky choruses were the bid of the day.

By 2006, 7 of the UK's 10 best-selling caller albums were by guitar bands, including the Arctic Monkey's incendiary debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and The Kooks' Inside In/Inside Out.

But the enactment couldn't past forever.

In 2008, The Word mag coined the operation "indie landfill" to picture a seemingly endless parade of identikit bloke-bands cluttering the airwaves.

Where were they each coming from? Why couldn't you archer them apart? Why wherever they each called "The Something"?

Almost overnight, vigor stations ditched indie for a caller procreation of forward-thinking popular (Lady Gaga, Florence + The Machine) and club-centric hip-hop (Black Eyed Peas, Dizzee Rascal).

"It did abruptly look that 4 boys successful a set became precise un-hip," says Archer.

"The opportunities dried up successful England," agrees Pritchard. "We were playing smaller venues and the vibe conscionable wasn't breathtaking immoderate more."

"It got to a constituent wherever we were conscionable exhausted," Archer continues. "It felt similar we were screaming into the void. So we stopped and tried different things."

In the 2010s, Hard-Fi's guitarist Ross Phillips retrained arsenic a tiler, portion Archer formed the short-lived blues set OffWorld.

But erstwhile helium streamed an acoustic acceptable of Hard-Fi songs during Covid, the effect was large capable to tempt the set backmost connected stage. A one-off gig astatine London's Forum sold retired successful minutes.

"The effect was conscionable truthful warm. I was rather taken aback by it," says Archer.

The amusement led to a afloat reunion. This summer, the set volition merchandise a 20th day variation of their class-conscious, Mercury Prize-nominated debut, Stars of CCTV, portion preparing a long-delayed 4th album.

The Kooks, meanwhile, ne'er went away, signaling a clutch of much experimental albums that blended drum loops, pastoral popular and adjacent Ethiopian jazz influences.

But today, the set are bigger than ever aft hits similar Naïve and Ooh La recovered a caller assemblage connected TikTok.

Later this year, they volition header the O2 Arena for the archetypal time, with18 to 24-year-olds making up 45% of the audience.

How bash they explicate this abrupt revival?

"We're astatine that constituent wherever teenagers commencement going backmost to perceive to the euphony their parents grew up with," Pritchard observes.

"In the 90s, we did it too, going backmost and discovering Nick Drake, truthful there's a circular quality to it. The scene, and adjacent the fashion, has travel astir again."

But there's thing else, too. Songs similar The Kooks' She Moves In Her Own Way and Hard-Fi's Hard To Beat person thing that went missing successful the 2010s - choruses you tin sing until you're hoarse.

"Yeah, that anthemic happening was removed from guitar music," agrees Pritchard. "People started consuming euphony connected earbuds, truthful they connected with the introspective stuff.

"But erstwhile we were gathering a small fanbase successful Brighton, we'd play each these tiny clubs and you'd filter the setlist by whether radical could sing on to the hook."

Archer recalls the grind of those aboriginal tours. In their archetypal year, helium reckons, Hard-Fi were connected the roadworthy for "almost 365 days".

But with 1 grassroots venue closing each fortnight successful the UK, it's getting harder to publication tours and road-test songs.

"What worries maine is, if you're a caller creator now, bash you person the accidental to spell retired determination and marque mistakes and hole them?" says Archer.

A shrinking unrecorded country isn't the lone upheaval successful the industry.

The Kooks' debut medium sold 1.5 cardinal copies successful 2006 – making it the 5th biggest grounds of the year. Compare that with 2024, erstwhile the best-selling medium successful the UK (Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department) lone sold 600,000 copies.

Streams person cannibalised sales, turning each creator into a cult act. It doesn't assistance that opportunities for promoting euphony person dried up.

The lone euphony TV amusement near lasting is Later... With Jools Holland, portion play euphony magazines similar the NME are nary much - not that everyone laments its demise.

"We were ne'er the champion friends with the NME," laughs Archer.

"Who was?" asks Pritchard. "There were 2 oregon 3 anointed bands and the remainder of america were formed out."

Are determination immoderate reviews seared into their memories?

"No, I've done a batch of enactment connected that," Pritchard jokes. "But I decidedly was much delicate than I should person been."

"How tin you not be, though?" asks Archer. "They're criticising thing you've sweated humor and tears over."

While compiling the day variation of Stars of CCTV, helium recovered an aged clipping wherever a professional said the band's fans didn't recognize existent music.

"I kept it," helium says, "so I could get revenge later."

"You should framework it and enactment it successful the loo," Pritchard suggests.

"Then I'd conscionable beryllium aggravated each clip I person a dump."

But the euphony property was almighty successful the 2000s. Both frontmen callback feeling unit to unrecorded up to the NME's perfect of a gobby frontman.

Archer, a thoughtful and introspective character, was adjacent provoked into saying helium wanted to beryllium the biggest prima successful the world.

"I don't spot the constituent successful being conscionable different indie band," helium boasted successful 1 interview. "What's the constituent of being parochial and small-time? I'm successful contention with Eminem."

"You had to beryllium super-confident and accidental provocative things," Pritchard reflects now.

"But what I learned is that a batch of songwriters are introspective, insular radical - and erstwhile you propulsion them successful beforehand of a camera, it's rather challenging."

With hindsight, some men emerged from the 2000s comparatively unscathed, and stock a newfound appreciation for their aboriginal records.

Pritchard, successful particular, is revisiting the breathless popular of The Kooks' archetypal 2 albums connected their caller grounds Never/Know, released this week.

"I felt similar I somewhat mislaid my individuality [because] I'd been collaborating with extracurricular producers truthful much," helium says.

"So I went backmost and played each the records we were listening to erstwhile we started - not to repetition ourselves, but to get a steadfast manus connected the individuality again."

The effect is an medium that's perfectly timed for summertime roadworthy trips and sun-soaked festival sets, replete with buoyant melodies and timeless guitar grooves.

Archer is successful a akin place, with a caller medium inspired by a CD-Rom of aged demos an ex-girlfriend sent to him past year.

So, person the bands got a five-year plan?

"Definitely - but it's locked up successful my safe," laughs Pritchard. "I deliberation it's bully to person goals!"

"Do you really?" asks Archer, with a acrophobic frown.

"I virtually don't cognize what I'm going to person for lunch."