Recording it took quite a long time.
— We don’t always agree on what it should sound like, it’s not until someone gets really pissed off that the rest of us realise we’re getting somewhere. Also, this being our first album, there’s been no pressure on us to do it quickly. But now the world is finally ready for an album by The Kooks, says Michael Lohse, the band’s singer.

Like drummer Henrik Berglund, Michael is a former member of successful mid 90’s act Atomic Swing, which split up in 1997. But Michael doesn’t look back:
— You have to carry on doing your own thing without dwelling on the past.

The first single from the album, Too Much Of Nothing, was released in October 1998. The lyrics urge the listeners to pull themselves together, seize the day and chuck their TV’s out the window. The track was an immediate radio and Top 20 hit and sold gold (more than 15,000 copies).

The whole story started in May 1998.
— I was on my way to the shop when I ran into my mate Leo Dahlin, says Michael.
— He had taken his guitar to the pawn brokers and couldn’t afford to get it back. I got it for him and in return he agreed to record a few of my tracks. It worked out very well and the band was set up shortly after.
— I never knew that Michael had these songs in him before he played me the demos, says Henrik Berglund.