T-minus two days until Dreams on Toast is finally in your hands/ears/heart.
Frankie Poullain was late, which was understandable. The bassist was busy promoting The Darkness’ sure-fire hit new album, Dreams on Toast, the documentary, Welcome to the Darkness, and preparing for an extended world tour. When the Scotsman was finally available, he repeatedly apologized for his tardiness, before admitting his love for the Northeast, especially New Jersey.
“Whenever we perform in New Jersey, we always seem to have a day off, either before or after. I love walking around and taking in its rich history.”
The last time the band passed through the Garden State, they performed at the Asbury Lane –, a short stroll from the historic Asbury Park Convention Center, the famed boardwalk and, of course, the landmark Stone Pony. Although exact dates and venues have yet to be determined, the quartet will be appearing somewhere in New Jersey, hopefully, later this year.
On another plane of existence or during a different rock era, The Darkness would be the biggest band in the world, filling arenas and stadiums across the United States. Their eighth album, Dreams on Toast, would have been certified gold weeks before its official March 28 release date, and its latest single, the tongue-in-cheek “Walking Through Fire,” would sit atop the Top 40 charts.
Alas, that is not to be. Perhaps it is because the band became too popular too fast with the release of their 2003 debut Permission to Land, which included the big hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” It might have happened after the release of their second album, On Way Ticket to Hell… Back, after which the band crashed and burned and split for a brief period. Or The Darkness may simply be a victim of the current music industry and the overall lack of album sales. As frontman Justin Hawkins jokes during “Walking Through Fire,” one of their latest tracks, “[I] don’t even think my mom bought the last one.”
Produced by guitarist Dan Hawkins at his Hawkland Studios in Sussex, England, the new album is Queen influenced, which is acceptable, especially because longtime drummer Rufus Taylor is the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
Why doesn’t frustration tear The Darkness apart again? They simply refuse to take things too seriously. Their self-deprecating sense of humor is evident throughout their music.
As The Darkness’s bassist, Frankie Poullain has some interesting, fly-on-the-wall incites about his bandmates. He recently spoke with The Aquarian about everything Darkness and shared some exclusive details about the band’s next visit to the United States.
Darkness fans left the band’s last New Jersey concert (on April 22, 2022) with mixed feelings. Although privileged to experience an intimate performance, they were upset the band were relegated to such a small venue.
Perhaps, it is just meant to be. Perhaps, we’ve been victims of self-sabotage. Apart from “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” we have never gone for the obvious thing. There is always a twist. We always throw something in to throw people off the scent, so to speak. “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” which has become our calling card, is quite generic. Still, we have to appreciate the song. If we did not do it, we would not be having this conversation.
It is a great song, but it has typecast The Darkness when there is so much more to the band’s sound, style, and overall approach. Since reforming in 2011, the band has recorded a number of amazing songs, which should have at least duplicated the success of the first single. The new Dreams on Toast record features at least six songs worthy of being hit singles. As singer Justin Hawkins laments during “Walking Through Fire, “We never stopped making hit albums. It’s just no one buys them anymore.”
It is funny you should mention that song, ‘cause I think that is the one that could do something for us on American radio. It might be the most radio-friendly song we’ve done since “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” I am hoping it gets picked up by a DJ or two, or noticed by Howard Stern. It also [benefits] from an amazing production job.
Guitarist and songwriter Dan Hawkins has certainly made a name for himself as a producer. The previous album, Motorheart, was written and recorded at Justin’s Hawkland Studios in England during the COVID pandemic. The band’s members were scattered for much of its creation and many obstacles were overcome to complete it. How did the creation of Dreams on Toast differ from Motorheart?
This time we were in each other’s faces [Laughs]. We were together a lot. We went on three or four writing trips to the coast of England and Scotland. We always tend to go to the coast to get in touch with our creative side.
We spent a lot of time together and we put ourselves under pressure, since it has been four years and not our usual two years between albums. We were also cognizant of that, while we have plateaued in the United States – we are a cult band – we have doubled our ticket sales in the UK and Australia where we are now performing in arenas. That means we really wanted to reach out and provide intimacy and warmth and touch people’s hearts on some of the mellower songs. We also wanted to write driving songs like “Walking Through Fire” and “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy,” which is a quintessential Darkness party song.
It is a fun, tongue-in-cheek party anthem.
There is a lot to be said about just being stupid. There is all this essential wisdom and pretentious new age lyrics in songs. Sometimes, just being stupid is great. That is Rock ‘N’ Roll.
“Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” boasts the lyric, “and I ain’t gonna read no Tolstoy.” Does Justin have issues with the Russian novelist widely considered the greatest writer of all time?
[Laughs] Ironically, Justin can hold his own with academics. I’ve seen him interact with them and he is just as sharp. As self-educated as he is, he’s well versed in history. He [employed] quotes from Nietzsche such as, “I am not man, I am dynamite,” for the song “Mighty Wings” [from Last of Our Kind]. Justin is a man of extremes. He is interested in being stupid and being really smart.
Thankfully, The Darkness have never been too serious. Justin’s lyrics have always been full of self-deprecation.
He has always been self-aware. He is a clever songwriter, suggesting things without actually saying them. In many ways, he reminds me of Roald Dahl Justin has that same British humor – that playfulness with words – and I think he is an underrated lyricist.
And his brother Dan is an underrated composer and producer. Let’s not downplay your contributions to the band either. Still, it was the 2015 arrival of drummer Rufus Taylor that solidified The Darkness.
I could not agree with you more, and we have really hit the sweet spot with Dreams on Toast. We’ve all matured, though we have not recorded a grown-up album. Some of it, by our standards, is grown up, but then we stick to things like “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” and “I Hate Myself.” The Darkness will always have that childish element.
Ironically, the key to The Darkness’s success is maturity.
And immaturity. Justin and I are both contrarians. People expect us to act grown up, but if that goes on for too long, we’ll start acting stupid again. We never want to do the obvious thing.
Currently in fashion in the United States: crossover country songs, where pop stars from different musical genres will record southern-flavored songs and score hits on a variety of record charts. Dreams on Toast’s country ballad “Cold-Hearted Woman” has the potential to do just that.
That would be ironic. I hope Rolling Stone and Spin magazine give us a fair listen. It has been a while since they reviewed one of our records. I hope Dreams on Toast comes to their attention.
Bands such as The Darkness are a victim of the time. Had the band come along during the mid-seventies, you and I would be having a different conversation, the new album would be certified gold weeks before its release, multiple single would be scaling the pop and rock charts, and fans would be clamoring for tickets to one of the band’s sold-out arena shows.
I understand what you are saying, but we are still grateful because we are earning a living from music. It is a tough time for artists, and now we have to deal with AI. One of my friends has spearheaded a campaign to get the British government to stand up to AI companies, so they cannot just appropriate music and go against an artist’s copyright.
I recently heard an AI-generated Johnny Cash performing “Barbie Girl.” It was humorous the first time I listened to it. The second time, I began to think how dangerous it was to artists and their respective legacies.
It is scary, but there will always be people like you and I that love music. There will always be that minority that keeps it going. You and I can sniff out AI from a mile away. Fortunately, there will always be music lovers who buy vinyl and concert tickets. Screw the rest of them. To them, music is a lifestyle accessory.
A few months ago, I purchased a stack of CDs and a friend said, “Why don’t you just listen to Spotify?” I was upset. I said, “After all of these years, you still don’t know me. You don’t know my relationship with music.” Directly or indirectly, most of my relationships – my wife, my closest friends – are the result of my relationship with music.
Even if real music becomes a smaller thing, it will survive, because people need live music. People need rock and roll. It is the greatest invention of the last century.
When I spoke with Dan for The Aquarian in 2021, our dogs interrupted our conversation to bark at each other. Dan and I got quite a laugh out of that.
It is funny that you should mention that. There will be special editions of Dreams on Toast with each of us getting an exclusive track, and both Dan and Rufus singing about their dogs. Rufus’ song is called “My Only,” and it sounds like he is singing about a woman, but he is actually singing about his Boston Terrier. Dan’s song is about the passing of his beloved dog, Hugo.
That is sad. My dog, Anya, also passed a few years ago.
Hugo’s death has tormented him, so Dan’s song is quite tragic. It is an Elton John-type of piano ballad. My track is a folk song titled “Peppermint Chamomile.”
I have to buy four copies of the new album?!
[Laughs] I was going to say you could hear them on Spotify.
The documentary Welcome to the Darkness will soon arrive on DVD.
It is more serious than people would have imagined. The director wanted to poke around and find some vulnerabilities, and Dan and Justin opened up emotionally about quite serious things that happened to them. I don’t want to give it away. I did admire them for their emotional courage. Being an older Scotsman, I found it hard to open up.
You and Rufus appear on the cover of Dreams on Toast.
It was not our choice, but we were in character during the photoshoot and Justin liked the mood we were giving off. We were acting like eighties Wall Street businessmen. There are many ways to interpret the album’s title and one is the collapse of Western capitalism and the trouble the banks and [other financial institutions] experienced a few years ago.
We are still living during a difficult time politically, socially, and economically.
We are certainly living during precarious times.
An expansive European tour is on the horizon for The Darkness. Which beckons the question: when will the band be visiting the United States again?
I am giving The Aquarian an exclusive. There will not be one, but two US tours in the near future. And, yes, there will be shows in both New Jersey and New York.
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