And then comes ‘Jussy’s Girl’ a hard rocker that seems to take the grand concept of Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl (yes attempting to be funny there) and give it a little twist.
‘The Power and The Glory of Love’ is that mid tempo unmistakably catchy hard rocker that will have everyone nodding their heads. Firstly title track ‘Motorheart’ – it’s fun, stutteringly Metallic and a little Prog in outset, and it roars out of the traps with aplomb and lands another winning punch before Progging out again at the tail. The reason The Darkness are so great though really plays out in the next few tunes. You get the feeling that like the prophetically-titled ‘Easter is Cancelled’ ( The Darkness were one of the last International bands we saw Downunder before Easter was indeed effectively cancelled) this one is going to be another winner with a great mix of hard rockers, melody and humorous touches… The bouncy ‘It’s Love Jim’ a hard rocking classic with a great riff and a Star Trek reference and video game ending. It’s a little hard to describe opener ‘Welcome Tae Glasgae’ with it’s driving drums, bagpipes, slight to Scottish food, big riffy groove and heavy ending’ but clocking in at under three minutes it just ‘feels’ like the right opener. This one, if you’ve loved the last few is quite honestly hard to put down. Let’s not forget We Are the Guitar Men, an ode to great guitarists and the joys of making music – themes which seem to run throughout the whole of Easter is Cancelled, a record which can only be fully understood by taking the time to soak in each piece.The Darkness have always been great band in my book, some of course might not be able to get past Justin’s voice, others might find their fun levels disturbingly high but it’s hard to knock the songs. This becomes evident right from the opening track with Rock’n’roll Deserves to Die, a kind of halfway point between an acoustic ballad and assertive hard rock, as well as the brilliant song Heart Explodes where every note goes shivering down your spine. Each track is composed with a great meticulousness, largely thanks to guitarist and producer Dan Hawkins.
With a good dose humour, the band confronts the unexpected changes that life throws our way, though this concept album is anything but soft. It’s masterful rock’n’roll with an uncomplicated operatic touch. Who can forget their album One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back, a record that sounds like Queen taken to the extreme! Easter Is Cancelled is a controlled chaos that mixes influences from the likes of Thin Lizzy, Queen, AC/DC. When brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins (The Darkness’s singer and guitarist respectively) set their minds to a new project, they don’t do things by half. See More Your browser does not support the audio element. Let’s not forget We Are the Guitar Men, an ode to great guitarists and the joys of making music – themes which seem to run throughout the whole of Easter is Cancelled, a record which can only be fully understood by taking the time to soak in each piece.
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