A reformed trio version of The Kinks has allegedly been recording new music together, according to separate accounts from lead singer and songwriter Ray Davies and his brother and lead guitarist Dave Davies (as Stereogum points out). The brothers began working together again in 2014 after last playing as a band in 1996. While a lot of their time since them seems to have been spent sifting through unreleased tracks from the past (and plotting a deluxe 50th anniversary reissue of their revered 1969 LP Arthur), they have also been working out new compositions with help from the band’s founding drummer Mick Avory.
“The songs are really just in demo form now,” Dave Davies told Rolling Stone in an interview published today. “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.”
In a recent Channel 4 interview late last month, Ray Davies also claimed the band was in process working on “a new Kinks album,” after having claimed in 2014 he had reconciled with his brother Dave and began to discuss working together again. Ray Davies claimed the choice to reunite was partially inspired by going to a recent Rolling Stones concert. “The trouble is, the two remaining members, my brother Dave and Mick, never got along very well,” Davies claimed. “But I’ve made that work in the studio and it’s fired me up to make them play harder, and with fire.”
Both Kinks bassists—founding member Pete Quaife and post-1978 member Jim Rodford—have passed away. Previous to 2014, potential Kinks reunions were also teased in 2008 and 2011, but this one seems like it could be the real deal.
