Released by: Cooking Vinyl
Release Date: March 28th, 2025
Genre: Hard Rock
Links: https://www.thedarknesslive.com/
Line Up:
Justin Hawkins
Dan Hawkins
Frankie Poullain
Rufus Tiger Taylor
Tracklist:
Rock And Roll Party Cowboy
I Hate Myself
Hot On My Tail
Mortal Dread
Don’t Need Sunshine
The Longest Kiss
The Battle For Gadget Land
Cold Hearted Woman
Walking Through Fire
Weekend In Rome
Good lord, how has it been 4 years already? The band had established such a consistent rhythm, dropping fresh tunes approximately biennially – the comeback masterpiece Hot Cakes (2012), followed by Last of Our Kind (2015), Pinewood Smile (2017), the magnificent Easter Is Cancelled (2019), and their previous offering Motorheart (2021). It’s bewildering that Motorheart was released four years ago, though we’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy their splendid documentary Welcome To The Darkness in the interim, plus those ‘catsuitastic’ concerts from these natural-born performers.
As 2025 unfolds, Dreams on Toast arrives alongside an imminent UK tour where they’ll return to venues they packed during their career’s ‘Phase 1’ – so what awaits us on this album?
In short: novelty. This latest Darkness creation packs more unexpected elements in just the opening trio of tracks than seemed conceivable. For those who’ve fantasized about “Queen exploring country territory” or “Bon Jovi channeling AC/DC” or perhaps “The Darkness interpreting Sham 69” – these are precisely the fantasies The Darkness are serving up on toast for your consumption.
The record’s first track, Rock and Roll Party Cowboy, represents their most startling musical departure in recent memory, demonstrating conclusively the band’s remarkable adaptability – their ability to adopt and transform diverse sounds while maintaining their distinctive identity. Likewise, I Hate Myself embodies The Darkness essence completely, yet appears seasoned with hot sauce, decorative sprinkles, and various additional garnishes simply because they felt like it.
Queen comparisons remain inevitable, and Hot On My Tail initially suggests that influence until you realize it’s more like Queen collaborating with Dolly Parton to produce something entirely different.
Rather than dissecting each stellar track, suffice to say the songs connect with the band’s foundational influences – those classic rock titans who, throughout five decades, have molded the genre and created space for Justin, Dan, Frankie and Rufus to craft today’s music. Their collective musical expertise is comprehensive and fully utilized throughout this delightful 33-minute collection.
I anticipated more conventional material (which would’ve been perfectly fine), but I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is absolutely fucking outstanding, that’s the honest truth. Bring on the concerts!
Score 10/10
Reviewed by Adrian Hextall
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