The Kooks have announced their sixth studio album.

Luke Pritchard and co had planned to go on hiatus in 2018, after an extensive tour around the world in support of their “Let’s Go Sunshine” LP.

However, Luke couldn’t disconnect from the music – not only did he and his wife Ellie Rose kick off their Duo duets project and release a self-titled EP in 2020, he was also able to work on new music for the ‘She Moves his way.

Now the indie-pop band are back with the first taste of their upcoming three-part collection, “10 TRACKS TO ECHO IN THE DARK,” featuring singles “Connection,” Jesse James,” and “Modern Days” now. available on streaming platforms like the EP, ‘CONNECTION – ECHO IN THE DARK PART 1’.

Luke, 36, has opened up about how he felt compelled to make an album that portrays The Kooks as a “European band” after being “really affected by Brexit”.

He said: “I started going to Berlin for three or four days at a time. I was very touched by Brexit and wanted to make a small statement by creating a European record.

“We’re a European band, we practically lived there and have so much love for Europe, so we wanted to keep that connection.”

Luke noted that he rained in his drug use during his time in Berlin.

He said, “I didn’t take any drugs.

“It was more dive bars and a bottle of whiskey than Berghain.”

On how the German city – frequented by David Bowie and U2 – inspired him, he continued: “A lot of songwriters have found refuge in Berlin.

“It’s a free place, it’s not consumed so much by commercialization. I was looking for something a little more raw, a little more minimal. Sometimes you pick up those nuances somewhere. It’s not necessarily the people, it’s the place.

Luke co-wrote and produced much of the record with Tobias Kuhn there, but in March 2020 COVID-19 travel restrictions meant the pair had to work via Zoom, until Tobias could fly to London and joining The Kooks – also featuring Hugh Harris and Alexis Nunez – to put the finishing touches on the LP.

Getting married and becoming a dad for the first time has also given Luke an “inner peace”, which is reflected throughout the electronically-tinged uptempo collection.

Luke added: “I really hope that feeling of inner peace comes through.

“I really want to have fun with my life at this point. But also – it’s kind of a reflection of how I felt in real time in a pre and post COVID world. I was reading a lot of sci-fi – like Philip K. Dick, Azimov and surreal stuff like Boris Vian – which is obviously very distracting from what’s going on in the world, but helped me to be imaginative with the songs.

“During the pandemic, I had a lot of time to go through our albums and feel really proud and lucky. This album is a real thank you to our fans for supporting us for so long, we hope you like it.”

’10 TRACKS TO ECHO IN THE DARK’ was released in full on July 22.