Permission To Land

Of all the musical trends that might have been expected this year, a grassroots cock rock revival is definitely one of the least likely. Especially when the sock-down-the-trouser merchants in question are from Suffolk, have a mustachioed bass-player called Frank and weren’t even born when the phenomenon happened first time round.

Far from being the product of an over-fertile – and over-coked! – A&R man’s imagination, The Darkness were selling out 1500-capacity venues before the first whiff of major record company interest.

Central to the operation is Justin Hawkins, a catsuited six-string colossus who’s also in possession of a falsetto that makes Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Steve Perry et al sound like Tom Waits in comparison.

On tracks like the impossibly catchy ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, the vocal gymnastics border on Spinal Tap parody and although adamant they’re not extracting the piss, it’s hard to imagine that titles like ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman (Mothafucka)’ and ‘Love On The Rocks With No Ice’ are meant to be taken entirely seriously.

The band’s 70s steals are so perfect that at times you think you’re listening to a tribute band. ‘Givin’ Up’, for instance, is an unashamed rehash of Queen’s ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ complete with widdly-diddly Brian May-style guitar solo. However, über-cheesy or not, current Top 10 resident ‘Growing On Me’ and obligatory lighter-in-the-air number, ‘Friday Night’, demonstrate that they’ve mastered this pop song lark.

Not everyone’s cup of P.G. Tips admittedly, but if you’ve got a sense of humour and a couple of Boston albums hiding away at the back of your record collection, you’ll adore The Darkness.

Simon Parry