There’s a candid strategy to the Darkness’ albums that can be misconstrued as simplistic or, under worst circumstances, campy to casual observers. But they’re neither, despite the outside appearances. The British band, which exploded to prominence with their 2003 debut Permission to Land, finely tune their 1970s-inspired, glam-coated hard rock for maximum impact. There’s nothing simple about their methods.Still, the knowing wink behind Justin Hawkins’ classic rock moves is quick to spot after 22 years. The cover of the Darkness’ last album, 2021’s Motorheart, featured what can only be referred to as phallic-shaped mechanical creatures sprouting from a cosmic netherworld that was tied to a song about having sex with robots. It’s as if Roger Dean’s artwork turned pornographic instead of into fantasy.Similar amusing touches are all over the band’s eighth album, Dreams on Toast, from its peculiar title to the opening track, “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy,” which somehow manages to encompass the exact hellbent-for-a-good-time attitude its name conveys. Yet they also reveal a heart beating beneath the spangled jumpsuits and soaring falsetto: “There goes thе best seven years of my life / There goes a girl who only saw me, not my influence or my wealth / There goes the only human being I have ever loved more than I hate myself,” Hawkins sings in the deceivingly peppy “I Hate Myself.”READ MORE: 2025 Album ReviewsIf Motorheart could be framed as a semi-concept album about relationships in the modern age, Dreams on Toast bears no overriding theme other than have a good time and try to get out alive; if you can’t, that’s cool, too. The album’s 33 minutes whiz by, with power pop, metal and even some galloping country (“Hot on My Tail,” “Cold Hearted Woman”) tossed into the fidgety mix.It’s easy to name touchstones in the Darkness’ music, from “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” and “Mortal Dread”‘s AC/DC boogie to the Beatles-via-Queen bounce of “The Longest Kiss” to “Walking Through Fire,” a love letter to the Darkness themselves. (“Our next long player is coming out soon / I’ll be honest, I’m under the moon / We’re only doing this cause it’s fun / Don’t even think my mum bought the last one,” Hawkins admits over opening acoustic guitars that escort one of the Darkness’ best songs.) But more than two decades from their debut, Dreams on Toast proves the band is still charting a path of its own making.Top 25 Rock Albums of 2024 Once again, reports of the genre’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci