A lot can happen in nearly two decades, especially when you factor in the mile-a-minute pace of being in a band that is adored the world over. For Luke Pritchard and The Kooks, that often meant shapeshifting and temporary fixes in terms of the band's dynamic in order to keep the train rolling. 

With their latest album, "Never/Know" however, it was time for Pritchard and multi-instrumentalist Hugh Harris to finally reset the mold. Now with a new touring lineup in tow, the band put out the album last month, and are embarking on a tour that includes a June 10th stop at Turner Hall Ballroom. Ahead of the tour, we talked with Luke Pritchard about how the band has evolved, and what they're looking forward to most on this run of shows:

OMC: You've got a new album. You've got a new single, a couple of songs already out from the record and what is the the most exciting part of going into this this cycle of making an album and touring again?

Pritchard: We're very excited. We had an amazing experience the last time we toured America, because it had been so long, and just having the realization of the kind of impact that bands have. It kind of all came flooding back, seeing younger people in the crowd as well. It'd probably been five, six years since we've been here.

So we're feeling really good about it and we've got a cool new record. It's certainly one where we've tried to really hone in on, after 20 years, what the band really is. It's the kind of thing that puts the essence of the band in a kind of new light and a new lens, and everyone's feeling good. Everyone's on a good vibe and we're trying to bring some positivity and optimism, and and have a good time.

I can't wait to get back out there. I mean, I like it, but you got to have gratitude, you know. 20 years and to still travel the world and and have the status isn't easy for a British band, or for any band. There's just so much amazing music in America. So we just feel very lucky.

OMC: When it comes to making a record after being around for 20 years, do you feel your writing style changing?

Pritchard: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I'm always trying to be as honest as I can with it and deliver a good representation of where I'm at when I'm writing a song. Even if you're talking about the past, I'm certainly in a less angsty state. The first few albums, I was quite angry, and I was so riddled with anxieties. Sometimes that came out in humor, and I've still got my humor, I hope. But yeah, it's settled down. I've got kids running around when I'm writing songs, and that brings a whole new kind of joy to making music. It's been quite inspirational for me.

I'm sure a lot of people don't feel that way. They probably want to go to the studio and not have them, you know, pulling at wires, but I found it to be quite inspirational, especially on this album. The album in general is really about being through hell and back in a band, and I definitely went through different phases of working. 

On the last few albums I had really embraced the kind of super collaboration with producers. On this one I went, "You know, I've got this vision, I'm going to do it myself." and I produced the album.

What I did though, was I told everyone "let's just get back to how we started making music" to feel like teenagers again. We just went to the countryside, and we listened to loads of music, and we jammed and we made an album. So in a way, it's a full circle  celebration record of what the band is, if that makes sense.

OMC: You're getting back to that for sure. I want to talk to you about "Sunny Baby" from the record, because I feel like you could put that out as a summertime song in literally any decade and it would it would resonate. It's a timeless kind of pop-sounding song. Who did you listen to while you're while you were making the record that would influence something like that?

Pritchard: I was trying to go back to the roots of our band. So I was listening to like a lot of The Police with the guys. Labi Siffre, I was listening to a lot, which I think really seeps in that song particularly. There's a bit of Vampire Weekend. I love Vampire Weekend. Their song "This Life." "Sunny Baby" is almost my response to that song. They're such masters of taking sort of retro nostalgia and making it really fresh. I was like, I'm going to go into that realm. Buddy Holly is a big influence as well. Sam Cooke and stuff like that, too.

When we were mixing the album, that song particularly, I said to the mixer, Dave Bascombe "I want to hear every one of their timbres and vocals." You don't hear that a lot in modern music production, and I really enjoy that. "Sunny Baby" is like those old Sam Cooke records. They're so loud, but not too offensive. But you hear the individual singers and and so, yeah, influenced by a lot of that kind of older music.

OMC: You guys are also touring with Lovelytheband. You've worked with them previously, as well, on records. How did you guys initially connect?

Pritchard: Yeah, I'm so excited. Hopefully we'll do more stuff. I connected with them through Jimmy Duval, who's a producer I worked with very briefly in Los Angeles. He sent me their music and I really liked it, and I heard they liked us, and we just started talking. There were these songs hanging around that they felt were really great and nothing had been done with them, so we went "let's collaborate on it."

I feel like there's a lot of synergy between the two bands. We have a lot of the same kind of outlook, and it's going to be really fun to tour with them and to play live with them.

You can catch The Kooks and Lovelytheband at the Turner Hall Ballroom on Tuesday, June 10th. Tickets are available now via the Pabst Theater Group website.