Album Review: The Darkness return to form with Hot Cakes

The Darkness Hot Cakes (PIAS Recordings) •••• Poised between the classic pop-metal of, say, Def Leppard and the blatant comedy-metal of Steel Panther, the England-formed quartet The Darkness sometimes veer dangerously close to novelty act territory, but they also have great song-craft and a keen understanding of what makes the best hard-rock music tick. Their vibrant, three-million-selling 2003 debut Permission to Land was seized upon by punters hungry for worthy successors to the likes of Van Halen and AC/DC, but their 2005 follow-up, One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back , was as daftly portentous as its title, the group overreaching, overspending and just plain over, after the fraternal linchpins Justin and Dan Hawkins had a falling out. Happily, Hot Cakes is a bona-fide return to form, with tightly arranged songs such as Every Inch of You and She's Just a Girl Eddie , rebooting the ebullient riffage and castrato-like histrionics that are the band's forte. We also get an uproarious take on Radiohead's Street Spirit and a winning, American-style power ballad with some unmistakably English asides: "One more cup of tea and I'm out of here", sings Hawkins on Livin' Each Day Blind. Follow Arts & Life on Twitter to keep up with all the latest news and events

Album Review: The Darkness return to form with Hot Cakes

This album is a bona-fide return to form for The Darkness, with tightly arranged songs rebooting the ebullient riffage and sastrato-like histrionics that are the band's forte.