THE DARKNESS
Motorheart (Cooking Vinyl)
Motorheart, the seventh studio album from Lowestoft glam rockers The Darkness, begins with what has to be one of the worst opening tracks ever recorded. Welcome Tae Glasgae with its bagpipes, faux Scottishness and discordant rhythm could have listeners turning off straight away – but fast forward and you’ll get to the real meat of the album, which is good old rock’n’roll.
The remaining 12 songs are about love in one form or another, from the unrequited to the nervous first date – Motorheart’s title track is a cheeky little number about a robot-human relationship with lyrics that will make you laugh out loud and album finale So Long has a profound sadness to it. Justin Hawkins’ falsetto often serves no purpose other than to remind us what made the band famous – The Darkness are more than just a high vocal they play a great riff and beneath the tongue-in-cheek jollity, there’s a seriousness that gives the songs depth.
words LYNDA NASH