Forever not crap purely on the strength of actually being entertaining as well as being outstanding musicians. Also Justin Hawkins writes great hooky Rock songs and his Youtube channel is worth a squiz

When they first appeared I thought they were a gimmick, but after listening to that album I realized they were not fucking around in the least. 1000x better than Steel Panther. "Givin' Up" plays in my head weekly. I love when they hit that Brian May tone on the leads. NC, WF 2 for doing way too much blow.

While I can appreciate that certain ideas can build some gravitas as they make their way across the Atlantic, you Yanks should be aware that this dross is (for all intents and purposes) our equivalent of Buckcherry. Professionally produced, fun (if that's your thing) but at its core, bad - a cynical, posturing badness that is not endearing at all, despite the veneer of fun.

The biggest hurdle retro / revivalist types face is being distinct enough to stand apart from their influences - a tricky square to circle when you're basing your schtick on somebody else's gameplan. By this metric, The Darkness fail terribly- I just can't see who would reach for a jokey version of Queen when you can put on an actual Queen album.

J.H comes across as super slimy on his YT channel, IMO.

Crap.

M.H wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 2:34 am While I can appreciate that certain ideas can build some gravitas as they make their way across the Atlantic, you Yanks should be aware that this dross is (for all intents and purposes) our equivalent of Buckcherry.

I don't know if you are doing a caricature of a smug Englishperson or if you're serious, but we are perfectly capable of understanding your sophisticated pop music thank you very much. We just don't care that it's not cool for you to like The Darkness, but we're sorry for you that you aren't allowed to have fun and stuff.

ChudFusk wrote: I don't know if you are doing a caricature of a smug Englishperson or if you're serious, but we are perfectly capable of understanding your sophisticated pop music thank you very much.

You might want to reread my original post.

My point was that The Darkness are lo.com.denom, cynical industry bullshit. Easily as bad as Steel Panther.

I was a young teenager when this blew up and back then I was disgusted by it for reasons I could not and cannot articulate.

Listened to the first album now to gain some distance. "Love is Only a Feeling" is the video I remember and man, is this it? A mid-tier 80s stadium rock ballad, bland even in its own context, when you can hear those old songs on the radio anytime you like. Why would you want another thing like this?

I could try to think of snappy things to say about the rest but it's just really really bad.

So okay, I realize I'm not the intended audience. But besides my general dislike of the style, and my dislike of nostalgia, there is like a grey contentedness throughout it all, so that despite everything it often remains within a very safe, nondescript 90s/00s radio rock vibe, which is depressing to listen to.

Pointless band.

kokorodoko wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:52 am Pointless band.

Bang on.

I thought they were an actual joke/gimmick when I first heard them. I think I may have chuckled a little and went about my day.

I’ve heard a little more from them since then, with a similar reaction.

So I guess they are worth a chuckle from me, but that’s all. Have never been intrigued enough to look into them further.

Abstain due to lack of knowledge/interest.

Have not thought about this band since 2005. I filed it right next to other retro b/w Pro Tools bands of the time like Wolfmother and Jet. Wikipedia tells me they released their 7th album last year, jesus..

M.H wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:50 am

ChudFusk wrote: I don't know if you are doing a caricature of a smug Englishperson or if you're serious, but we are perfectly capable of understanding your sophisticated pop music thank you very much.

You might want to reread my original post.

My point was that The Darkness are lo.com.denom, cynical industry bullshit. Easily as bad as Steel Panther.

The thing is that Buckcherry was basically the LA version of Dogs D'Amour, The Quireboys, etc.