Post by Chickensoupcheese on Jul 15, 2003 13:36:21 GMT -5
Apparently, this band, the founding members being two brothers (AC/DC springs to mind, people comment on more bands with brothers (or sisters, whatever), I've forgotten!) spent 3 years gigging before they got their contract. Would you be surprised that a group of rockers who take their inspiration from acts such as AC/DC and Queen, whose lead singer has a tendency to sing very high (and even yodel) and wear a lovely spandex catsuit were left unsigned for three years? Probably not. But anyway, after having sold out places like the Astoria, they got signed up for a contract, which they made out as being worth three pints of lager and a vodka, lime and soda (I'm not kidding), which they signed with quills whilst dressed as 18th Century Noblemen (again, I'm not kidding). They could only be British, eh? Well, they are, they're insane, and they're bloody brilliant. I've had this album for no more than 7 hours, and yet I've heard it 4 or 5 times through already. Here's what I think:
1 - Black Shuck:
The album gets off to a roaring start with this track: a fantastic opening riff is matched by fantastically ridiculous fantasy lyrics, which presumably are the first hint of their influences being way back in the 70s and 80s. Mind you, with a chorus along the lines of "Black Shuck (Black Shuck)! Black Shuck (Black Shuck)! Black Shuck (That dog don't give a ..)!", it's hard not to sit there and grin.
8/10
2 - Get Your Hands Off My Woman:
This was the second single of the album, which, like its predecessor on the album, offers infectious guitar riffs, very flamboyant, girly vocals, and another sing along chorus (providing you sing it to yourself to avoid offending anyone). Oh, and here comes the first of many quite excellent guitar solos. Less than three minutes of class.
9/10
3 - Growing On Me:
The latest single is one of the tamer songs on the album, but that's not to say it doesn't rock! This one takes its influences from more poppy rock bands, perhaps the likes of Def Leppard, etc. It grew on me very quickly, and it should do to you. I never looked back after hearing this.
10/10
4 - I Believe In A Thing Called Love:
Okay, here's the first single off the album. I think we've a pattern here: catchy hook, great vocals, and a kick-ass guitar solo. To add to the mix here though, we now have yodelling!
Very silly, but quite excellent.
10/10
5 - Love Is Only A Feeling:
After four songs of hilarious genius, we come across our first ballad. And suddenly this band you'd been having so much fun with come out with this beautiful song: although we still have our wonderful solos and our heavy guitars, we have a softer mix in here, and Justin Hawkins' (the singer) voice which comes across as wonderfully silly in the other songs again suddenly becomes quite beautiful.
10/10
6 - Givin' Up:
Here comes our AC/DC style song, our riff being reminiscient of Angus Young's playing style. We're back to our silly slices of genius, the lyrics being the most intruiging take on drugs I think I've seen. We're presented with another impressive solo, too. It's not as cool as some of the other tracks however, and it perhaps does have a bit too much swearing within. Still, an impressive song by any means.
8/10
7 - Stuck In A Rut:
Another fast rocker, albeit one of the few weaker tracks on the album. Everything is intact, but the riff isn't quite as catchy as in other songs on the album. The singing/evil laughing/solo are still highly impressive, though.
7/10
8 - Friday Night:
Another track probably more influenced by the poppier side of things, and the better for it. A good old fashioned love song is what's needed at this point in the album, and here it is. As Hawkins shows us how occupied he keeps himself after school (extra-curricular activities), he obviously shows us why he bothered. Which is kinda sweet.
8/10
9 - Love On The Rocks With No Ice:
The longest track on the album clocks in at just under six minutes, and this time it takes its inspiration from early heavy metal, as far as I can tell. The thumping riff is reminiscient of stuff by bands like Sabbath. Nevertheless, its catchiness factor still ranks pretty high, and the guitar work within has to be heard to be believed. This astounding guitar play earns it an extra mark all by itself.
9/10
10 - Holding My Own:
Just when you thought for the last track you'd get a silly-megathon, you get another power ballad. At the end of the track however, you couldn't care less: this is another beautiful song, perhaps on the Queen side of things. The most astonishing thing is how The Darkness can put extremely silly songs and wonders like this on the same album and get away with it. I don't think anybody would argue, though. A fantastic ending to the album.
10/10
Overall Percentage: 89/100 = 89%
What's going on here? Aren't debut albums supposed to suck? Think what you will, but one thing that I can safely say is that this is not one of those types of albums. You could say that we've heard it all before, but you'd be missing the point. I bet that most of you are in the state of mind that music was so much better in the past than it is now. Yes, I probably agree with you. So would The Darkness. With the introduction of Nu-Metal and contracts for millions of dollars or pounds or whatever, the music industry is beginning to show what it really is: an industry, producing products to sell. Music is taken way too seriously these days. Where has the fun gone? Permission To Land has all been done before, but what has been done before is what we so desperately want back in the charts. And although Must...Destroy Records must have been at least a little reluctant to sign up these group of nutters (charming nutters), they should hopefully take note that, due to this entering at No.2 in the UK charts, that this is the kind of music that people like, and want.
Hopefully the abominations to music known as Pop Idol and Nu-metal should be a thing of the past. If it is, my bets on The Darkness being the reason for it.
Silly, silly, fantastic fun it is. The only bad thing is that I don't think the album is released in the US at this current point in time, so you may have to wait
. Brits should turn their speakers up to 11 (Spinal Tap style!) and come and rock with The Darkness. I really need to see these guys live . Permission to land? we should have been begging for you to land! I would go as far to say that it's the best debut album I've heard since The Smiths' self-titled.
EDIT: Oh, and if anybody is wondering about the "Copy Protected" sticker on the front of the case, let me tell you that the supplied player on the disc is awful, and I've had much more fun running it through Windows Media Player, as I do with all my CDs, unless I put it through Musicmatch to record/copy the tracks onto my comp and onto my player. What a waste of time it was putting that on.
1 - Black Shuck:
The album gets off to a roaring start with this track: a fantastic opening riff is matched by fantastically ridiculous fantasy lyrics, which presumably are the first hint of their influences being way back in the 70s and 80s. Mind you, with a chorus along the lines of "Black Shuck (Black Shuck)! Black Shuck (Black Shuck)! Black Shuck (That dog don't give a ..)!", it's hard not to sit there and grin.
8/10
2 - Get Your Hands Off My Woman:
This was the second single of the album, which, like its predecessor on the album, offers infectious guitar riffs, very flamboyant, girly vocals, and another sing along chorus (providing you sing it to yourself to avoid offending anyone). Oh, and here comes the first of many quite excellent guitar solos. Less than three minutes of class.
9/10
3 - Growing On Me:
The latest single is one of the tamer songs on the album, but that's not to say it doesn't rock! This one takes its influences from more poppy rock bands, perhaps the likes of Def Leppard, etc. It grew on me very quickly, and it should do to you. I never looked back after hearing this.
10/10
4 - I Believe In A Thing Called Love:
Okay, here's the first single off the album. I think we've a pattern here: catchy hook, great vocals, and a kick-ass guitar solo. To add to the mix here though, we now have yodelling!
Very silly, but quite excellent.10/10
5 - Love Is Only A Feeling:
After four songs of hilarious genius, we come across our first ballad. And suddenly this band you'd been having so much fun with come out with this beautiful song: although we still have our wonderful solos and our heavy guitars, we have a softer mix in here, and Justin Hawkins' (the singer) voice which comes across as wonderfully silly in the other songs again suddenly becomes quite beautiful.
10/10
6 - Givin' Up:
Here comes our AC/DC style song, our riff being reminiscient of Angus Young's playing style. We're back to our silly slices of genius, the lyrics being the most intruiging take on drugs I think I've seen. We're presented with another impressive solo, too. It's not as cool as some of the other tracks however, and it perhaps does have a bit too much swearing within. Still, an impressive song by any means.
8/10
7 - Stuck In A Rut:
Another fast rocker, albeit one of the few weaker tracks on the album. Everything is intact, but the riff isn't quite as catchy as in other songs on the album. The singing/evil laughing/solo are still highly impressive, though.
7/10
8 - Friday Night:
Another track probably more influenced by the poppier side of things, and the better for it. A good old fashioned love song is what's needed at this point in the album, and here it is. As Hawkins shows us how occupied he keeps himself after school (extra-curricular activities), he obviously shows us why he bothered. Which is kinda sweet.
8/10
9 - Love On The Rocks With No Ice:
The longest track on the album clocks in at just under six minutes, and this time it takes its inspiration from early heavy metal, as far as I can tell. The thumping riff is reminiscient of stuff by bands like Sabbath. Nevertheless, its catchiness factor still ranks pretty high, and the guitar work within has to be heard to be believed. This astounding guitar play earns it an extra mark all by itself.
9/10
10 - Holding My Own:
Just when you thought for the last track you'd get a silly-megathon, you get another power ballad. At the end of the track however, you couldn't care less: this is another beautiful song, perhaps on the Queen side of things. The most astonishing thing is how The Darkness can put extremely silly songs and wonders like this on the same album and get away with it. I don't think anybody would argue, though. A fantastic ending to the album.
10/10
Overall Percentage: 89/100 = 89%
What's going on here? Aren't debut albums supposed to suck? Think what you will, but one thing that I can safely say is that this is not one of those types of albums. You could say that we've heard it all before, but you'd be missing the point. I bet that most of you are in the state of mind that music was so much better in the past than it is now. Yes, I probably agree with you. So would The Darkness. With the introduction of Nu-Metal and contracts for millions of dollars or pounds or whatever, the music industry is beginning to show what it really is: an industry, producing products to sell. Music is taken way too seriously these days. Where has the fun gone? Permission To Land has all been done before, but what has been done before is what we so desperately want back in the charts. And although Must...Destroy Records must have been at least a little reluctant to sign up these group of nutters (charming nutters), they should hopefully take note that, due to this entering at No.2 in the UK charts, that this is the kind of music that people like, and want.
Hopefully the abominations to music known as Pop Idol and Nu-metal should be a thing of the past. If it is, my bets on The Darkness being the reason for it.
Silly, silly, fantastic fun it is. The only bad thing is that I don't think the album is released in the US at this current point in time, so you may have to wait
. Brits should turn their speakers up to 11 (Spinal Tap style!) and come and rock with The Darkness. I really need to see these guys live . Permission to land? we should have been begging for you to land! I would go as far to say that it's the best debut album I've heard since The Smiths' self-titled.EDIT: Oh, and if anybody is wondering about the "Copy Protected" sticker on the front of the case, let me tell you that the supplied player on the disc is awful, and I've had much more fun running it through Windows Media Player, as I do with all my CDs, unless I put it through Musicmatch to record/copy the tracks onto my comp and onto my player. What a waste of time it was putting that on.
