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THE DARKNESS ATLANTIC RECORDS  Permission To Land starts off with a tune called "Black Shuck" and for the first 40 odd seconds it's solid, captivating, straight-forward rock n roll. But then it hits you; Justin Hawkins sings, "The parishioners were visited upon, By a curious beast." And when I say "hits you," I'm talking not about the lyrics, but the delivery. Justin is a falsetto. A rock n roll falsetto. Falling somewhere between Tenacious D and Ronnie James Dio (and there's not much distance there mind you), The Darkness actually have some musical talent and some of the songs even skew towards "catchy." There's just that one small issue... That whole falsetto thing. Are we that hungry for something new that this passes for the next great thing? Is the state of music so boring and trite that this is the solution we've been yearning for? Permission To Land isn't the worst album of 2003, nor is The Darkness the worst band, and some of the songs really do stay with you. Mostly, though, they just get under your skin. I envision two record execs in their ivory tower settling up a wager. "Well, Mortimer, you win. Somehow you managed to sell an utterly ridiculous band with virtually unlistenable music to the masses. Here's your winnings - one dollar." Okay, bet's over. Can you make them go away now? review by scott sisti |
