As a lifelong fan of a band, when you receive news from a PR company you work with, that said act’s releasing a new album*, you squeal. Not a glamorous or cool fact, but it’s true. A sign of being really invested, some may say. Put it this way, as a young girl, I had a huge poster of The Darkness shredding away against a wall of Marshall amps and cabs, signed by Jim Marshall OBE himself. Pretty impressive merch my Dad secured, and I had it up for years. 

Now, almost two decades since they sprang onto the scene and flaunted a new era of British rock in our faces — feathers and all — the Hawkins brothers and their equally talented band pals are back. “You know that thing when God’s breath tickles your soul and tells you to create? Yeah, makes me giggle, too. But you can’t resist.” That’s what frontman Justin shared with the media, when first in conversation about making the record. And now we have ten songs of pure riffy joy as the output. We may not be worthy. 

You’ll recognise ‘The Longest Kiss’, ‘I Hate Myself’ and the opener, ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy’, from their build-up campaign. A scuzzy lick starts the latter and, when the drums kick in, it’s got legs and pace. As I was partly expecting something akin to those biblical panpipes at the beginning of 2005’s ‘One Way Ticket’ (AKA the ultimate bop for those who dig satire, Queen and AC/DC), it’s quite different. But boasting those tongue-in-cheek, on-the-nose vocals, it’s a whopper that you’ll want on repeat. 

Don’t get yourself caught in a loop there, though; the whole record’s designed to get you on your feet. In fact, if you can’t have a laugh with these fellas and summon the air guitar as you press play, you aren’t listening right. So try again.

Circling back then to ‘I Hate Myself’, the lyrics are sung in unequivocally Justin Hawkins sing-song fashion. Pitch, harmonies, highs, lows — it’s got it all. And there’s loads of bounce to the let-the-good-times-roll vibes that come stitched to its fabric. Then, slightly choir-esque, with a touch of giddy, country-boy Americana, ‘Hot On My Tail’ enters. Brandishing a daftness to its intriguing storyline, you’ll find yourself quickly hooked within the verse. 

Afterwards, it’s back to those classic Brian May-style, crisp-as-anything six-string shreds,  whereby ‘Mortal Dread’ delivers the goods. It’s catchy as hell, obviously, and traverses themes of getting older in their traditionally slapstick way. The sort of narrative I’m flippantly pretending, at 31, to know nothing about. 

There’s always a slower, wistful one, isn’t there? ‘Don’t Need Sunshine’ answered that call, before the familiar ‘The Longest Kiss’. But then, things go a bit metal. If you like it heavy, ‘The Battle For Gadget Land’ is another musical chuckle in the face of the modern-day techy society, from the perspective of now-older blokes. Again, evidence that The Darkness still understand just how to plug the spoofy undertones they’re renowned for.

Remember the hillbilly, heel-clacking ‘Hot On My Tail’? It re-emerges in even fuller swing on ‘Cold Hearted Woman’. As country bops don’t get my vote, this doesn’t quite do it for me, but 23 seconds into the following song — and penultimate offering — ‘Walking Through Fire’ projects an aural glimpse of OG The Darkness. Those quintessential high-pitched vocals rear their head again and it’s back into what they do best. I’m so here for it. “We never stopped making hit albums, it’s just that no-one buys them anymore,” is a cheeky dig embedded softly (though not too softly that you won’t hear) in the coda of that track. And I’m thinking, I hope they don’t believe that — they’ve got my permission to stay… 

Before things fade out, ‘Weekend In Rome’ serves storytime in the most playful sense. Like an orchestral, English version of Tenacious D that ought to soundtrack a Jane Austen adaptation, it so deftly proves for a tenth time that these guys should never stop making music. It’s uplifting medicine for rockers, and ‘Dreams on Toast’ is one I’ll happily tip as a masterpiece. 

If you only download one track, let it be: ‘The Battle For Gadget Land’

*With thanks to Chuff Media for the advanced stream.