Justin Hawkins and co. use their loaf on Darkness album number eight, but they still know what side their bread’s buttered.
In Welcome To The Darkness, the 2023 documentary chronicling the rise, fall and mighty comeback of Lowestoft's finest, Justin Hawkins reflects upon his initial, rather short-sighted vision for the band. “I used to have a very clear idea of how everything would play out,” he recalls, shirt unbuttoned to the naval, his legs crossed to reveal a pair of yellow leather shoes. “A really successful mega album [Permission To Land, 2003], and then slightly disappointing follow-up [One Way Ticket To Hell… And Back, 2005], and then split, and then triumphant return.”
It’s a good thing they didn’t pave their path too far ahead of themselves, as the six records they’ve produced since they recommenced wouldn’t have been nearly as creative or fun, especially now they’re labouring in a musical landscape that seems hellbent on sidelining guitar music and the long-player. ‘We never stopped making hit albums,’ Justin reminds us on the excellent Walking Through Fire. ‘It’s just that no-one buys them anymore’.
Dreams On Toast cements their place as purveyors of the finest in album titles – see also: Hot Cakes (2012) and Easter Is Cancelled (2019) – as well as skilled at pivoting around their own preposterousness in search of gold.
Admittedly, opener Rock And Roll Cowboy, its riff reminiscent of Queen’s Keep Yourself Alive, initially appears to cleave close to The Darkness of old. That’s until the vocals begin. Largely pitched halfway between Bon Scott and Robert Palmer, they list rock accoutrements (‘Leather jacket / No sleeves / Harley-Davidson / Yes, please’) before arriving at the year’s most delightful rhyming couplet: ‘I’m a rock’n’roll party cowboy / And I ain’t gonna read no Tolstoy.’
Elsewhere, there’s a greater introspection from Justin. Musically, I Hate Myself cribs from Status Quo, but its lyrics speak of self-loathing as self-protection (‘I really hate myself, so you don’t have to’). On the surface it’s a break-up song, but hard not to also hear as the empathetic admissions of a man who wrought merry hell in the early 2000s, emolliating bridges in the process. Later, on Don’t Need Sunshine, its sparse arrangement gives the Justin of today more room to lay himself bare (‘I’m alive, and I love it / There’s nothing you can give to me that I covet’).
Some of Dreams On Toast’s most interesting moments, however, are those that really show the curious shapes The Darkness can twist their trademark style into. Hot On My Tail may read like a prime AC/DC offering, but it ends up being more hoedown than Power Up, a simple country stomp that juxtaposes nicely with some of the more sumptuous numbers.
However thick the slices are cut here, Dreams On Toast is spread to the corners with the familiar and the fresh, equal parts self-awareness and self-regard, resulting in their finest album of this, the second coming of The Darkness.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: The Struts, Airbourne, Steel Panther
Dreams On Toast is released on March 28 via Cooking Vinyl
