Review: Christian Stanger
“We never stopped making hit albums, it’s just that no one buys them anymore,” croons Justin Hawkins with just a hint of opera on Walking Through Fire, before an explosive guitar solo break the silence, takes center stage, and shakes the foundations. Such self-deprecation mixed with masterful musicianship is exactly what you expect from The Darkness—and once again, as long as you’re in it for a good time and can take a joke, that’s exactly what is delivered on Dreams On Toast.
It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Permission to Land—and now, with Dreams On Toast, one of the most flamboyant, eclectic, and unabashedly nostalgic rock bands around continues to pay homage to a bygone era with their tenth studio release. It seems that all they need to do is show up in the studio, and another collection of ten songs, unique to them and their place in the zeitgeist, seeps out. More importantly for us, though, it gives them another reason to book yet another sell-out world tour.
The Darkness are a band with nothing to prove. Long since justifying their existence, they continue to crank out the catchiest of tunes purely for fun. Take Rock and Roll Party Cowboy—it’s exactly what you’d expect: an old-school riff, a shot of adrenalin, a pace-setter, and a clear pre-game soundtrack. Motörhead would be proud of this one—if it weren’t camp as hell. “I’m a rock and roll party cowboy, and I ain’t gonna read no Tolstoy”—well, clearly. This is a The Darkness album.
As expected from a band with this level of talent, the album is eclectic in style, ranging from the unmistakable country influences on Cold Hearted Woman and Hot On My Tail to the usual power-pop, metal, and AC/DC-tinged hard rock. All this gives the impression of an album that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be—other than a good time.
The unexpectedly upbeat I Hate Myself is the clearest example of this. The lyrics are clever, self-deprecating, and slightly morose—then, suddenly, a horn section hits, and a trumpet solo smacks you in the face. If the live shows don’t feature a bugle player in a bucket hat, I will be bitterly disappointed.
DREAMS ON TOAST OUT MARCH 28, 2025 VIA COOKING VINYL
