Pitchfork

The success of The Darkness' debut album, Permission to Land, is one of the most baffling musical occurrences of the millennium. The U.K. sensation somehow managed to sideswipe the U.S. music scene twofold, not only proving popular despite their overtly British sensibilities and presentation, but also by creating a mainstream chart smash with an album steeped in a long-dead genre-- 80s pop-metal. And as long as we're keeping score, the disc also had the power to instill temporary insanity in some of my fellow Pitchforkers, causing it to rank at a surprisingly respectable No. 41 on our list of Top 50 Albums of 2003.

And while the album's approach to aerosol-fueled rock benefited from both a tongue-in-cheek humor and a 1000-watt delivery, the possibility of lightning striking twice hasn't exactly been brewing in anyone's crystal ball. Fans and critics will soon be able to test their loyalty, however, because as we reported in June, The Darkness have spent much of 2004 working on tracks for their second album, which guitarist Dan Hawkins has tentatively promised for release next summer.

While full details are still sketchy, Hawkins recently spoke with England's The Daily Record about the band's current progress on the upcoming LP. "We've written enough stuff for an album, but we just want to make sure it's 10 times better than the last one. We've been at it solidly for the last couple of weeks and it has had its ups and downs. Because we've been touring for so long, we're getting used to being creative again." Don't worry, I'm FedEx-ing them my dad's VHS of Queen at Wembley. Ready Freddy.

In the meantime, you can catch The Darkness live in the UK this month, as they spend the year's dwindling days playing a handful of shows across their native land. The following dates still remain:

12-08 Birmingham, England - NEC Arena
12-10 London, England - Wembley Arena
12-11 London, England - Wembley Arena
12-12 London, England - Wembley Arena
And in a final bit of band news, The Darkness can also be heard on the Band-Aid 20 single, a re-recording of the 80s charity smash "Do They Know It's Christmas?" The song debuted at the top of the UK singles chart this week with an estimated 292,000 copies sold. Other notable artists featured on the release include Paul McCartney, Bono, Coldplay's Chris Martin, and Dizzee Rascal. Proceeds from the single will go to aid those in need in the Darfur region of Sudan.

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