"I'm feeling very chilled right now," says Luke Pritchard, looking suitably serene on a West London pub couch with pint in hand. "Like, in terms of looking back." Eleven years after the debut album that introduced The Kooks as teenage contenders for the indie pop crown, the band's singer and chief songwriter is considering the distance travelled -- personally and creatively -- between then and now, and admits that only recently has he "turned a corner" and learned to fully appreciate their breakthrough release. "You're always running forward, and you don't want to look back," he explains, "and I think every album that we

Music gives a voice to those who need it when they need it the most. Our favorite artists say the difficult things out loud, so we don't have to -- but can learn how to. By the same token, lovelytheband translate emotions, anxieties, and feelings into lush, layered, and lively indie pop anthems. When the band was founded by lead singer Mitchy Collins, guitarist Jordan Greenwald and drummer Sam Price in 2017, the trio maintain a lasting connection to listeners by holding nothing back. "I really believe the importance of songwriting is saying something when someone else doesn't know how to," affirms Mitchy. "In the songs,