Last of Our Kind
Fifteen years into their career, there seems to have been a conscious removal of tongue from cheek.
Beginning with a spoken word intro ("One by one the kingdoms fall/they looked upon this isle and took it all/harbingers of pain/Edmund the martyr cut down by a Dane on the orders of Ivar the Boneless") and ending with a torch- and morning star-waving power anthem delivered with throaty gusto by bass player Frankie Poullain, the Darkness' first post-comeback album and fourth studio outing overall may also be their best to date, effortlessly pairing Spinal Tap-inspired braggadocio with meaty metal riffs and soaring pop hooks, with both a lusty wink and a resolute kick in the teeth.
On first hearing The Darkness' fourth album, this reviewer had to check that Justin Hawkins was still a part of the band.
The Hawkins brothers get heavy, lose their charm. CD new music review by Russ Coffey