Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Darkness, Darkness



I've gone on about The Darkness and their 2012 release "Hot Cakes" a number of times on these pages. It is a record that continues to get some seriously heavy rotation. "Hot Cakes," more than the band's two previous records, managed to not only get in my wheelhouse, but live comfortably like an ideal roommate. If their debut, "Permission To Land," laid out the storyboards, and their follow-up "One Way Ticket To Hell" was the rough cut, "Hot Cakes" was the masterful final cut, at least to my ears. This could be why what followed, 2015's "Last Of Our Kind" left me cold. I was s et up for disappointment. If "Hot Cakes" set out to keep the hard rocking and glam sounds of Queen, Sparks, and AC/DC alive, "Last Of Our Kind," if you could somehow accept this, sounded more like a parody than the parody that was already the band itself.

Now we have "Pinewood Smile," released just a couple of weeks ago. While it may be more of the same....a good thing...it is more of what grabbed me on "Hot Cakes," with as many hooks and crunching riffs as one could handle, and the addition of new drummer, Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Queen drummer, Roger Taylor. It is no wonder then that the patented, operatic harmonies of Queen are more prevalent than ever.

Here are two to get you started. This is what has been missing for far too many years now. Rock music that is FUN, DAMNIT!!



5 comments:

buzzbabyjesus said...

Both those songs kick plenty of ass. You're right, it's Classic Rock today.
Beats the shit out of Boston, and would hold it's own next to the first couple
Van Halen albums.

Shriner said...

"Soild Gold" is a goddamn great track from this album (and "Southern Trains" is hilarious), but, for me, the winner is the last throwaway bonus track "Rock In Space". This is what the Darkness does better than anybody since The Sweet/Queen frankly.

I'm *way* overdue to see them live. This might be the year.

It's not my album of the year. But it's a *whole lot of fun*.

Ken J Xenozar said...

Oh, this is just great. Excuse me while I adjust the cucumber in my pants.

dogbreath said...

Works for me. You've got to love this band: game for a laugh, up for a good time & giving us some old style classic rock into the bargain. Been with them since the first album where, as I've repeated ad infinitum, the high register of Justin Hawkins's vocals made me think there was something wrong with the production or my equipment - but it turned out to be down to the singer's own tightly packed equipment. You could do worse than put this on repeat play. Rock on!

Chris Collins said...

I love this band.

I saw the National last night at the Hollywood Bowl. I know I'm supposed to love the National. I don't. Critics may have killed rock music by insisting that bands like that National are great. They're fine. No better, no worse. But they are certainly not FUN.

I'll take the Darkness any day.