After years of inactivity, promised reunions, and tense relationships, it appears as though the first new album from The Kinks since 1993 is in the works.
Back in 1996, The Kinks ended their 32-year career in the midst of the Britpop era, when numerous band were citing the iconic group as a huge influence on their sound. Despite this, years of dwindling sales and tensions between bandmates eventually caused the group to go their seperate ways.
In the ensuing years though, talks of a reunion came to light, with many fans wondering when – and if – they would in fact eventuate.
Last year though, Ray and Dave Davies confirmed that the band were indeed reuniting, explaining that they were hoping it to be somewhat “low-key”.
“It won’t be well-organised like the [Rolling] Stones,” they explained. “Great band, great at organising their careers and Mick [Jagger] has done an incredible PR job and it’s kind of inspiring to see them doing it — but The Kinks will probably play in the local bar.”
Now, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Dave Davies opened up about the state of the reunion, and the status of new music from the band.
“This has really been going on for a couple of years,” Davies explained. “We keep going backwards and listening to a lot of old stuff. Some of that is very good, and some of it needs a bit of work.”
Noting that the band have been spending a lot of time working on a 50th anniversary edition of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), Davies revealed that while the project is “virtually done”, the band have also been trying to finish off some songs that remained unreleased.
“Some we recorded but never used,” Davies added. “Others don’t have finished vocals or they need other embellishments.”
Most excitingly though, Dave Davies explained that The Kinks have also been recording some new Ray Davies-written compositions, alongside drummers Mick Avory and Bob Henrit.
“The songs are really just in demo form now,” Dave Davies explained. “But good demos. Ray is still dissecting various other material we might use.
“The intention is to get the work out, but it’s not a done deal.”
While it’s not clear when this new material will eventuate, fans are at this point wondering who will take up bass duties for the band, with original bassist Pete Quaife passing away in 2010.
Whatever the case, it appears as though fans will indeed be receiving some form of new music from The Kinks in the foreseeable future.
Check out ‘Sunny Afternoon’ by The Kinks:
