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The Darkness
One Way Ticket To Hell ... and Back
(Warner)
With AC/DC's cheeky humour, power metal's falsetto vocals, David Lee Roth's tights, and a total lack of personal shame, The Darkness have once again created hard rock that adroitly avoids self-parody (except for fun).
No one could accuse a band that titles one of its tunes Knockers of being deadly serious.
On the other hand, many of the songs seem to dwell on lost love: Is It Just Me?, Dinner Lady Arms and the strings-laden Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time are all remarkably heartfelt. The vital ingredient of The Darkness, as ever, is Queen -- and lots of it. Singer and guitarist Justin Hawkins is in full contact with his inner Freddy Mercury, and in far more control of his high-pitched singing style.
There's also some well done double-tracking on his vocals.
The glossy production strikes a good balance between melody and rock crunch (definitely favouring the former), with a few quirky moments like the video-game electronica in the bridge of Girlfriend.
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Though not recommended for fans of subtlety in music, One Way Ticket is a swell followup to its predecessor.
Track Listing:
1. One Way Ticket
2. Knockers
3. Is It Just Me?
4. Dinner Lady Arms
5. Seemed Like A Good Idea At the Time
6. Hazel Eyes
7. Bald
8. Girlfriend
9. English Country Garden
10. Blind Man