With album number four, The Darkness find themselves in a slightly difficult position. The former biggest rock band in the world created an unlikely success with 2003’s ‘Permission to Land’, bringing the spirit of 80’s rock to a time when AC/DC were the only other major band to sound like AC/DC. But following less successful sophomore album ‘One Way Ticket to Hell… And Back’, a five-year break and 2012 comeback album ‘Hot Cakes’ not doing much to restore their profile, where do the Lowestoft band try and take their music?
To answer in brief, nowhere. They may have a new drummer in Emily Dolan Davies, but there’s no expansion on their previous sound, no musical shift into Alt-J territory and no scathing social critique. There’s not even an attempt to tap into the success of post-Darkness hard rock novelties such as Steel Panther. But for a band who rose to fame through irreverence and completely ignoring everything else on the musical landscape, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
From the very start, this is not just The Darkness doing what they always have done, but doing it in noticeably stronger fashion than on the uninspiring ‘Hot Cakes’. Opener ‘Barbarian’ is a ‘Black Shuck’-style story teller about the Viking invasion of East Anglia, with a chorus packed with frontman Justin Hawkins’ delightfully camp falsetto. While it’s difficult to listen to first single ‘Open Fire’ without wanting to put on The Cult’s ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ instead, other moments are slightly less obvious trips through rock history; the title track is a nod back to the Queen reminiscent choruses of ‘Is It Just Me?’ and ‘Love Is Only a Feeling’ while ‘Roaring Waters’ and ‘Mudslide’ are built on riffs straight out of the Guns N’ Roses 1988 songbook. The hard rock grooves of ‘Mighty Wings’ and pop hooks of ‘Sarah O Sarah’ show why the band had such an appeal in the first place; how many other bands can boast support slots for both Metallica and Lady Gaga?
If there’s one surprise about the album, it’s just how well The Darkness still manage to make music with absolutely no surprises. It’s ultimately pretty easy to know what you’re getting with this album; it may not be what you’d consider essential listening for all music fans, but if you still enjoy giving ‘Permission to Land’ a listen, then The Last of Our Kind is well worth 42 minutes of your time.
ALEC EVANS