Darkness rocking the light fantastic
THE only surprising thing about the first concept album by The Darkness is that it has taken them so long to come up with one.
The Suffolk rockers have always been theatrical, with singer Justin Hawkins having once hovered above the heads of an audience while straddling a stuffed white tiger.
Even a temporary fall from grace dented their ambitions only fleetingly. They followed 2003’s Brit-winning Permission To Land with a lacklustre sequel and an acrimonious split, but have been prolific since reforming eight years ago, and even returned to the Top Ten with 2017’s Pinewood Smile.
Their renewed swagger is evident on Easter Is Cancelled. Billed as a mini rock opera, it touches on science fiction, religion and the role of the musician in society while pondering the existence of an infinite number of parallel worlds.
It is also — mercifully — essentially tongue in cheek. Provided you take it with a pinch of salt, it should raise a smile. With Justin’s guitarplaying brother Dan Hawkins producing and drummer Rufus Taylor (son of Queen’s Roger) an excellent rhythmic anchor, it plays unashamedly to the band’s melodic strengths.
Crunching power chords and layered harmonies dominate and Justin, 44, can still unleash that trademark falsetto scream.
ALIfE Of Brian-style sleeve is intended to symbolise the notion of alternative realities, although the fact that this Jesus looks just like Justin feels suspect. The singer isn’t the Messiah. He’s a very naughty boy.
But the concept of a world governed by musicians rather than politicians gives Easter Is Cancelled an eerily contemporary narrative. Those themes inform the title track and two epics — Rock And Roll Deserves To Die and We Are The Guitar Men — that bookend the album.
Rock And Roll Deserves To Die, which nods to Jethro Tull in its acoustic intro and Led Zeppelin in its chorus, dismisses most of today’s rock musicians as charlatans covered in lavish tattoos, but with ‘nothing real to perform’.
We Are The Guitar Men provides an effective counterpoint, closing the record by reiterating an unquenchable faith in rock’s relevance.
Elsewhere, Justin’s teenage years are revisited on Live ‘Til I Die and there’s an affectionate, but hilarious, Liam Gallagher impersonation on Choke On It. Reiterating his eccentric streak, Hawkins recalls an ill-fated childhood boating holiday on the jazzy Deck Chair.
Some of the most convincing moments arrive when the band play it (almost) straight. How Can I Lose Your Love expresses regret at a failed relationship and Heart Explodes tugs at the emotions while dissecting the creative process: ‘I’m trying to write a ballad that makes you want to stay,’ sings Justin. ‘They’re easy to come up with but difficult to play.’
It’s no surprise that The Darkness are still sought out as touring partners by stars as big as Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran. There will always be a place for goodtime rock bands who refuse to take themselves too seriously.
MISSOURI singer Angel gel Olsen cut her teeth in punk groups before delving into dance with a brilliant cameo on Mark Ronson’s Late Night feelings. Bruised by a painful romantic breakup, she uses her fourth solo album to reinvent herself as a dark, but dramatic, torch singer.
Olsen, 32, originally wanted to release two versions of All Mirrors simultaneously — one solo, the other with a band — but the second idea worked so well that she has shelved the unvarnished model for now. With her sultry voice framed by synths and strings, it’s a shrewd move.
She sings with striking power on Lark, embellishing emotive lyrics — ‘If only we could start again, pretending we don’t know each other’ — with Jherek Bischoff’s innovative orchestrations to create a widescreen wonder reminiscent of Arcade fire.
Producer John Congleton also adds a warm, analogue glow to songs which are new but often feel like long-lost country ballads or fifties standards. Dreamy dashes of Lana Del Rey surface, but Olsen is fast emerging as a star in her own right.
Both albums out today. the Darkness start a UK tour at the Limelight, Belfast, on November 25 (ticketmaster. co.uk). Angel olsen starts her tour on February 10 at SWX, Bristol (angelolsen.com).