The Kooks + Clara-Nova

Deep in the bowels of Britain lies a factory that produces sturdy, cookie-cutter rock quartets, all shaggy hair and broad pop songs. The Kooks, an unimaginative yet appealing Brighton band, are but one offering, with traces of Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes and others channeled through charmed accents. Like so many of its peers, the group is a fashionable void—the musicians could walk through sand and leave nary a footprint. They hit NYC this week with a new disc, Listen. As Clara-Nova, Sony-signed songwriter Sydney Wayser crafts hooky, Haim-esque indie-pop.