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(I finally got published with D.O.A. after a couple months of waiting! Here’s a teaser, but check out DOA for the full reivew and other reviews. I’ll continue to post excerpts from my reviews with a numbered rating)

Please excuse my excessive use of the word “rock” in this review, but there’s really no other way to describe The Darkness.

Remember when “rock” bands used to be proficient at their instruments, wrote well-crafted songs, and actually had confidence? Frontman for The Darkness, Justin Hawkins, turns back time, exuding enough confidence for the whole band by using banshee-like vocal levels and shredding up his guitar, all while wearing Freddie Mercury-esque open-chest suits. While bands that strictly stick to power chords and lyrics about getting dumped are still enjoyable at times, it wouldn’t hurt my ears to hear a guitar “lick” or “riff” every once in a while.

When I listen to this British band’s debut album, Permission to Land, it feels like I stepped into a time machine and went back anywhere between 15 and 25 years. The first time I saw the video for “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” I thought that this band was a joke. But I was quick to realize that this band can truly rock.

It seems like The Darkness meticulously studied all the cliches from rock ‘n roll history and rolled it up into one big super-cliche, but in the process the band makes rock fun again. The single “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” pulls it all together by incorporating a powerful rock-you-like-a-hurricane intro, falsetto vocals, a drum and vocal breakdown, and multiple guitar solos, including an outro guitar solo that Jack Black would dub a “face-melter.” If this isn’t the classic recipe for a hit single, I don’t know what is.

The rest of the album won’t disappoint either. For 38 minutes and 10 tracks, Permission to Land has its share of hard hitters (“Love on the Rocks with No Ice,” “Get Your Hands Off of My Woman”), pure rock songs (“Growing on Me,” “Love is Only a Feeling”), and even throws in a ballad (“Holding My Own”) for good measure. So put your qualms aside about being made fun of for liking The Darkness and break out your air guitar and air drums, because it’s time to have some fun rocking out.

READ MY ENTIRE REVIEW on D.O.A.