The Darkness - Pinewood Smile

Pinewood Smile is the fifth studio album by British hard rock group The Darkness, released in October 2017 via Cooking Vinyl.

Since first bursting onto an unsuspecting music scene in 2003 with their stellar debut album, Permission To Land, The Darkness became a lightning rod, exciting, confusing and sometimes even angering listeners. Their spectacular rise to fame, equalled by an equally rapid fall from grace, were blamed on a roller coaster of rock ‘n’ roll clichés: substance abuse, egomania, over-exposure.

The band reconvened in 2012 to record their third album, Hot Cakes, which tried to pick up where it had left off. But there were mixed results. With their fourth album released in 2015, The Last Of Our Kind, The Darkness returned with some old swagger and some new twists.

Their fifth album Pinewood Smile was produced by Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse, Smashing Pumkins), and features new drummer and band member, Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Queen legend Roger Taylor, who shares vocal duties with Justin on two of the tracks.

The compositions have all the crucial elements of classic Darkness fare, but with added layers for the ears to peel away at, such as a finger picking country rock heart puller, “Stampede of Love”. A couple of power ballads stand out, “Why Don't The Beautiful Cry” and “Lay Down With Me, Barbara”, a classy seduction song. Another detour is a punk metal killer track “Southern Trains”.

The album has reached #8 on the UK and #17 on the Australian Albums charts.

Check out the tracks:  “All The Pretty Girls”; “Solid Gold”; “Southern Trains”; and “Lay Down With Me, Barbara”.

This LP record is on black vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeve and digital download code with 14 tracks, pressed in Europe.