The Darkness' 'Pinewood Smile' - Album Review

The Darkness are a band that never fail to put a smile on my face. Their back-to-basics brand of hard rock, which fuses the simplicity and groove of AC/DC with the theatrics and melodies of Queen, is instantly memorable and their carefree attitude is refreshing. The Darkness live in a world where rock music ruled the airwaves, and the world is a far better place for that. During their original run, which lasted between 2000 and 2006, the band truly conquered the world. The early 2000s was a time in which traditional rock music was enduring a bit of lull, something which had been going on for quite a few years. The big names in the rock world at the time were all part of the vaguely-defined 'post-grunge' movement with bands like Foo Fighters and Creed really gaining traction. These bands lacked the flamboyance and soaring melodies of old, and failed the scratch the itches of many fans of traditional hard rock. On the other side of the coin, Britpop was still a thing, with Blur and Oasis dominating the musical landscape. In amongst all of this seriousness, a little album called Permission to Land in 2003 reminded the world that rock music is at it's most glorious when it is also somewhat silly. The Darkness' larger the life sound was an instant success, and the band were catapulted into the big time almost immediately. While The Darkness cannot be single-handedly credited with the rise in popularity that classic rock music has once again enjoyed over the past decade or so, I genuinely feel that Permission to Land's release and success played a big part in reminding people that that kind of music still existed. It also introduced lots of younger people to that style of music, and The Darkness really are the classic rock act of the modern generation. Since reforming in 2011 after their big fall out in 2006, the band's trajectory has been much more modest. I doubt The Darkness will ever return to the arenas that they filled on the tour supporting 2005's One Way Ticket to Hell...and Back, but they are still a force to be reckoned with in the rock world. The mid-sized clubs and theatres are the band's homes now, but they seem more than happy with this existence. 2015's Last of Our Kind (which I reviewed here) was a success for the band, and introduced a slightly rawer sound. Two years on and The Darkness have released their fifth album Pinewood Smile, and it is very similar soundwise to Last of Our Kind. It is the first album to feature drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor (Queen + Adam Lambert), which is some kind of ironic wish-fulfilment, but acquits himself well here with a strong drumming performance throughout. Unsurprisingly, Pinewood Smile has been another success for the band, with the album cracking the top 10 of the Official UK Album Charts, finishing off at number 8 the week it came out. It is always good to see some hard rock in the charts!

The album opens with All the Pretty Girls, an upbeat song that carries a tongue-in-cheek message about all of the attention you can get when you are famous. Driven by one of guitarist Dan Hawkins' meat and potatoes riffs, the song's jaunty nature is instantly likeable. This is enhanced with Justin Hawkins' flamboyant vocal performance, which contains a lot of his trademark falsetto during the high-energy chorus, and witty lyrics. Despite his humorous approach to songwriting, I have always thought that his lyrics were always deeper than what they initially seem, and this seems to be the case again here. It is a strong start to the album, and a song that epitomises the band's sound. Buccaneers of Hispaniola is next and continues the fast-paced action of the opening song with a frantic drum beat from Taylor which is accompanied with some hurried guitar chords. The guitarwork throughout here is much busier than the previous song however, with plenty of cheeky little leads thrown in at regular intervals. The song's guitar solo, presumably handled by Justin Hawkins, is a strong moment with plenty of melody and Queen-like sensibilities towards the end. Solid Gold, one of the album's singles, is more of a mid-paced rocker with a great AC/DC-esque riff that drives the entire song as the rhythm section of Taylor and bassist Frankie Poullain form a solid foundation. This is another song about fame, but this time dealing with the music industry itself all wrapped up in the band's trademark humour. The song's chorus is one of the album's most memorable moments, and is sure to become a staple of the band's set. This is also probably the song on the album that is closest to the band's really early sound, with a muscular production and a flashy guitar solo towards the end. Southern Trains is the shortest song here, at just under 3 minutes in length, and it is essentially an expletive-filled rant at the infamous train company that are well-known for their terrible service and numerous lengthy strikes. This is something that reminds me more of Hot Leg, the band that Justin Hawkins fronted while The Darkness were not together at the end of the 2000s, than The Darkness' traditional sound, but it works well with plenty of vocal histrionics and angst-filled lyrics. This is the sort of song that many other bands would include on albums as bonus tracks, if at all, but The Darkness have just slapped it right in the middle of this album's tracklist and they should be commended for always having a good laugh! Why Don't the Beautiful Cry? is one of the band's trademark ballads, with plenty of Queen-esque guitar leads and lyrics which seem to poke fun at the typical power ballad formula that was so successful in the 1980s. While more famous for their anthemic stadium rock, The Darkness have always excelled at slower numbers too, and this is another great effort. While much of the guitarwork here is taken straight from the Queen songbook, the first half of the song's guitar solo actually mimic's Slash's tone so perfectly that you could believe that he had dropped by the studio for a quick jam session!

The band return to their more usual hard rock sound on Japanese Prisoner of Love, which opens with a pretty heavy riff which is certainly more in-your-face than the band's usual style. This does not represent the song as a whole however, which is a real mixed back of styles included verses that have a bit of a folk rock feel with strong drumming, and more melodic sections with twin-guitar harmonies and plenty of choral backing vocals. The band's Queen influence is once again extremely evident here, and fans of that band's early work will love this. Hints of the frantic-ness of Ogre Battle are definitely present here with a good mix of heavier sections of falsetto vocal-led passages. Lay Down With Me, Barbara is another spoof love song, which mixes slower sections with choppy rock sections with some strange guitar riffs. It is not really a ballad however, despite some slow parts, because the choruses really ramp up with some strong power chord riffs. The guitarwork throughout this song is pretty special and really showcases the Hawkins brothers' skills. There are lots of intertwining riffs and leads throughout that are quite different from the band's usual simple riffs. I Wish I Was in Heaven is a light-hearted ditty with an upbeat feel led by Taylor's drums. It steams along at a pretty fast pace throughout, but features an excellent chorus with some of Justin Hawkins' highest vocals on the album. Thin Lizzy-esque guitar leads are also featured in the chorus which helps it to stand out, but the rest of the song has something of a country/folk rock feel throughout which a strong acoustic presence alongside the rockier guitar sounds. Happiness is another jaunty 'love' song, but this time with a very sugary vibe with an almost Top 40 pop chorus which works surprisingly well with the band's more usual style. This is the sort of thing that would sound hideously twee if another band tried it, but The Darkness have always had a way of making this fairly awful concepts work surprisingly well. While I prefer the band's more traditional hard rock sound, it is always good to see them trying out new ideas. The album's closing song Stampede of Love has a strong acoustic presence throughout and features Taylor delivering some of the vocals. His voice is different to Justin Hawkins', but it works well; especially when the two harmonise together. The acoustic guitars throughout give the song a strong country feel, which again is something new for the band. It works quite well however, with some slide guitar parts throughout to emphasise this. It does start to rock harder towards the end however, with a power chord-heavy section with gang vocals and a strident guitar solo. Overall, Pinewood Smile is an album that follows the sound the band have been pursuing since their 2011 reunion. While not as strong as their early albums, this is still an excellent listen packed with great riffs, solos, and plenty of fun lyrics.

The album was released on 6th October 2017 via Canary Dwarf Limited/Cooking Vinyl Limited. Below is the band's promotional video for Solid Gold.