Get the latest gossip
The Darkness review – retro rockers are still in acrobatically high spirits
Fresh from Taylor Swift’s endorsement, Justin Hawkins and his hard-riffing band can still strut and peacock with the best – so it’s a shame about the bad sound mix
Hawkins has never misplaced his desire to peacock in front of an audience, and yet his acrobatic high spirits do appear to be supercharged at an interesting moment in the group’s long career. In its place is something honest and homespun as Hawkins banters and saunters while his brother Dan, dressed like Johnny Ramone but holding things down with the beautiful reliability of Malcolm Young, riffs hard on Mortal Dread and Barbarian. It ruins Rock and Roll Party Cowboy and The Battle for Gadget Land, a couple of intriguingly spiky new songs, and is equally dismissive of Growing on Me, a banker from the old days that’s rescued at the last when Hawkins, spotlit in a neckerchief and retro-futuristic jacket like Doc Holliday fronting Sparks, peels off a head-spinning solo.
Or read this on The Guardian
