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Every so often, a legacy band comes back from a bout of releasing mediocre albums and gives us something genuinely good. We’ve seen the likes of THE CURE, METALLICA, GREEN DAY and FOO FIGHTERS release some excellent albums in recent years, and this time it is now the turn of glam rockers THE DARKNESS to bask in the glories of a latter career hit with their eighth album Dreams On Toast. Whilst THE DARKNESS themselves have been a constant mainstay on the British music scene since their reformation back in 2011, they’ve never quite hit the heights of their prime which saw albums Permission To Land and One Way Ticket To Hell…and Back make them one of the UK’s biggest bands for a short while. They’ve gone on to release several albums since then but haven’t quite hit those lofty heights. Dreams On Toast is one hell of a return to form as it acts as a love letter to all things rock ‘n roll whilst feeling like the lovechild of QUEEN and AC/DC.
Up first is Rock and Roll Party Cowboy which sets the standard for the rest of the album. It’s a punchy, anthemic opener which is earworm central from its infectious riffs to its chorus. It brings some great hard rock vibes and will have you nodding your head along in no time as Justin Hawkins growls his way through from start to finish. Following swiftly is second track I Hate Myself which borrows directly from QUEEN with its great driving riff that sees Hawkins displaying his ever impressive vocals as he switches effortlessly between falsetto and a regular style of singing.
The song itself also is a call back to the old rock and roll songs of the 60s/70s with it being backed up with a great sounding saxophone that adds to the joyfulness of the track. The album changes tempo slightly after two raucous rock efforts, it switches to a country sound Hot On My Tail as it swaps the wailing electric guitars for a simple strumming style that makes you want to be sat round a campfire in the open plains of America as a fun honky tonk piano tinkers it’s way through the song, it adds to the huge ball of fun that is Dreams On Toast.
Mortal Dread ramps up the pace in what is a complete AC/DC rip off but with much nicer vocals to listen to, subsequently becoming one of the albums superior tracks with a chorus that will be heaps of fun to sing along to when the band go on tour. It’s a simple enjoyable track that stays with you after listening to the album. Don’t Need Sunshine takes another moment to slow the album down and sees Hawkins with vocals that are eerily similarly sounding to that of Freddie Mercury at times, particularly with giving off a similar sounding vibe to the QUEEN song, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy throughout its verses as the band join in on backing vocals.
Following on is a fun little track, The Longest Kiss which once again sees the guitar taking a back seat for the majority and is driven along by a fun piano which complements the vocals perfectly, before eventually making way for a great solo which Brian May would be proud of. The Battle For Gadget Land sees the return of the hard rock sound that the album started with, however this song itself is a minor blip in what is otherwise a strong album, if it wasn’t on the album, you wouldn’t miss it.
As you approach the back end of the record, we come to the track, Cold Hearted Woman which once again reverts back to the country style for the record which is honestly where you find Dreams On Toast to be at its strongest when listening to it. It’s a more nuanced song that THE DARKNESS have in their discography and sees Hawkins once more going showing off his wild array of vocal ranges. Penultimate track Walking Through Fire sees the record start its victory lap as the huge riffs return in which will no doubt have crowds jumping up and down instantly in a live setting in what is a fun love letter to rock ‘n roll itself, it sums up THE DARKNESS’ ethos which is just that there is barrels of fun to be had with the genre. Weekend In Rome sees the album out on a lowkey note as a beautiful sounding acoustic guitar softly plays throughout as an equally beautiful musical arrangement backs it up as it holds up Hawkins’ vocals aloft in a great send off to the experience that has been Dreams On Toast.
Whilst it’s nothing new in terms of sound for the band, Dreams On Toast is a fun, coherent album full of great anthems, lyrics and all importantly heart. For a band who have been around for over twenty years, there isn’t one moment on this listen where THE DARKNESS feel like they’re phoning it in. It’s a record that has breathed new life into the band that celebrates all of their influences as they wear them proudly on their sleeve as it treads roads less walked in other genres such as country. It’s the perfect record to kickstart spring and the approaching summer months, make sure when you play it, you play it loud.
Rating: 8/10
Dreams On Toast is out now via Cooking Vinyl.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Dreams On Toast – The Darkness appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
