“And I love what you’ve done with your hair!” screams Justin on the song that is (obviously) called “Knockers”. They didn’t have to hire a player, since Justin could do it. (At least they saved a little money on the sitar. Then the acoustics and a sitar kicks in, because what else do you need on a song about excess? The coke and money must have been flowing right through that recording studio. Thought I better have another just in case.” A nice thick riff is joined to a soaring multi-layered chorus for that classic Darkness formula. “The first line hit me like a kick in the face. The shrill title track opens with flutes and Gregorian monks, and then Justin takes a snort.
The over-production is certainly an issue, especially when so many were attracted to the raw sound of the Darkness. Bassist Frankie Poullain was also out (the usual “creative differences”) and replaced by the uber-talented Richie Edwards. The band fired off in all directions, with pompous and bombastic kitchen-sink production backing them up. One Way Ticket to Hell …And Back is like a busy, manic snapshot of that period in time. Justin Hawkins was knee-deep in drugs and an infatuation with the 80s. There’s little question that the band took it too far. My opinion of the album was the polar opposite. “In one song, all he does is sing, ‘I love what you’ve done with your hair,’ over and over again,” complained the boss, who loved raining on my parade. “The new Darkness…sucks,” said one of my bosses when I walked in to work at the Record Store one afternoon in late December. Those folks didn’t want flutes, strings or gui-boards. Unfortunately, some people just wanted more of the same Permission To Land style of fun but hard rock. With guys like that at the control panel, you knew the Darkness were going to do something epic. Then it was Roy Thomas Baker, who got a test drive on the 2004 remake of “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again”. First Mutt Lange was said to be the producer. It was pins and needles, waiting for the new Darkness album in 2005. Just listen to ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ again.THE DARKNESS – One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back (2005 Atlantic) Rating: 46/100 (Originally 54, but revised after considering the lack of nuance in the first track) You can listen to the album on Spotify here, or buy tickets to their tour here. Trying to push the idea that because of the current state of rock, it deserves to die, is highly hypocritical from a band whose retro-fetishistic tendencies suggest none of the innovation required to keep rock from crumbling in on itself. The issue here lies in that The Darkness, whilst far more self-aware about their borrowings from other artists than Greta Van Fleet, are still pretty retro. My criticisms of Greta Van Fleet extend far beyond those laid out by The Darkness, but that’s a story for another time. In a recent interview, Justin Hawkins spoke positively of Greta Van Fleet, but said that they “need better songs”.
The worst thing about Easter is Cancelled though is the first song, Rock and Roll Deserves to Die. Instrumentation and deft bluesy guitar work. Least like The Darkness, as Deck Chair is a slower number, with relaxed Perhaps the best song on the album is sadly the one that sounds Iĭidn’t think The Darkness would take lyrical inspiration from Take That, but In verses and lifts the lyric “lipstick on my coffee cup” from Back for Good.
Heavy Metal Lover has some suitable guitar chugging The title track has quite a hair metal riff and goodĭrumming from Rufus Taylor (son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor), but Hawkins’ Was released as pre-album single, and is bombastic but not too over-the-top,īut still not great. There isn’t really a huge amount to love on Easter inĬancelled, as most of the songs are quite forgettable. They’re not as parodic as Spinal Tap or Steel Panther, but also not as serious as pretty much every other band. None of their subsequent songs have had anywhere near the staying power of that one, perhaps because fans aren’t really sure who The Darkness are. Bad album covers aside, it’s also a mystery as why they’re still making music, 16 years after the huge success of their only big single, ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’. Right off the bat, the album cover for Easter is Cancelled is not incredibly pretty, but it has nothing on The Darkness’ 2017 effort Pinewood Smile, which features lead singer Justin Hawkins’ thin pornstache.
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