Label: Atlantic Records
Release date: 2005
Production: Roy Thomas Baker
Album length: 35.04 min
Genre: Hard Rock
The rabid “critics” especially were eagerly waiting for the second album from glam rockers The Darkness. In the hope of gleefully trashing it, of course. The lads from the north of England didn’t disappoint the raging critics this time around either. Anyway, the guys in the band are like “screw the critics” and just do whatever they feel like. And that’s the only way to do it! Bravo, boys! What The Darkness have created on this album deserves all the praise.
From the opening coke sniff (I don’t give a damn about the feather press), all the way to the final, typically Queen-esque ballad, this album is unstoppable. They kick things off with a classic AC/DC-Def Leppard riff in the title track One Way Ticket To Hell…And Back. The drums and the whole rhythm section hit like crazy, pounding like a mule in harness. Of course, after an opener like that, nobody can stop them anymore. Dinner Lady Arms is easily the next, third single (the second single, Is It Just Me, comes out on February 20, 2006). The track actually reminds you a lot, especially in the guitar parts, of a song from the repertoire of their buddies Def Leppard, whose crowds The Darkness warmed up three years ago on a UK tour.
Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time gets a bit boring by the end thanks to the repetition of the title phrase, unlike the cheerful Scottish highland melody in Hazel Eyes. Excellent! The way the bagpipes and guitars intertwine is just a joy. Hats off, boys. Next comes the more serious Bald, where Justin is obviously wrestling with the problem of getting older in the lyrics. After a short breather on the previous track, Girlfriend picks the trend of happy riffs back up. The opening riff could easily be enrolled in the Status Quo elementary school of riffs. Of course the merrymaking doesn’t stop with this track, as the guys carry it on even more cheerfully and bouncily in English Country Garden. The album, which runs a good half hour and is basically built like a vinyl LP, closes with a more than obvious tribute to their idols, Queen.
I’m sure most critics gleefully trashed this album, but lo and behold, the prestigious British magazine Classic Rock went and declared it album of the year. The Darkness really have saved rock once again and shot a healthy dose of adrenaline into it.
author: Bojan Horvat
rating: 8.5 / 10
Track list:
1. One Way Ticket
2. Knockers
3. Is It Just Me
4. Dinner Lady Arms
5. Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
6. Hazel Eyes
7. Bald
8. Girlfriend
9. English Country Garden
10. Blind Man
Lineup:
Justin Hawkins – vocals, guitars, sitar, piano, Hammomd, Mini-Moog, synth
Dan Hawkins – guitars, bass guitar, marching drums, tubular bells, tambourine, triangle, vocals
Ed Graham – drums
Richie Edwards – bass guitar, vocals
Stuart Cassells – bagpipes
Fredy Gomez – pan pipes
