East Anglian rock legends The Darkness have announced a new album. Dreams On Toast will be released in March next year and is the follow-up to 2021's Motorheart.
"You know that thing when God’s breath tickles your soul and tells you to create?" asks frontman Justin Hawkins. "Yeah, makes me giggle too. But you can’t resist. God might not be the power she once was, but say what you like about her, she knows damn well that what the world needs now, is rock, sweet rock. And who are we, mere mortals of extraordinary ability, to argue with the divine?
"So we knuckled down and thought really hard about the best of the best, the elite songs, the life-changing music of the ages. Then we popped out a dozen bangers before lunch. And these bangers we present to you here, wallowing in an aromatic aural ragu, served atop the charred remains of our envious contemporaries… ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dreams On Toast!"
The band have also released a new single, The Longest Kiss, a buoyant, piano-led romp in the vein of Queen's Seaside Rendezvous, but with extra rock, sweet rock, just as Hawkins promised.
"Misty Orchards!" he exclaims. "That’s not my porn name, that’s the kind of scenery that I love. I awakened to such a vista in the delightful Scottish highland town of Nairn on the morning that inspiration for The Longest Kiss lyric struck. I was bleary-eyed and locked in an unending embrace with my (mid)life partner. Weird that I can still sing, but that’s a testament to the resilience of humans, especially lead singers.
"The music itself is a piano-led composition, the chorus of which my brother and I came up with after he’d taken a long time to empty his bladder during some impressive pub endurance. The verses were transposed from a song I’ve been working on for decades as part of a musical about the collapse of the Lowestoft fishing industry, called The Collapse Of The Lowestoft Fishing Industry.
"The musical isn’t finished yet. But The Longest Kiss is. The results are astounding. We’re all very proud of this. Please, to enjoy!"
While they're at it, The Darkness have also announced a UK to celebrate the release of the album. The run of 17 dates kicks off with a show at Ipswich's Regent's Theatre on March 7 and climaxes at London's Wembley Arena on March 29, with support from Northern Irish rock trio Ash.
“In 2004 we toured the UK’s arenas with The Darkness as Permission To Land catapulted them into the big league," says Ash frontman Tim Wheeler. "Next March, 21 years later, we will reunite to tear across Britain before an epic crescendo at Wembley Arena. We believe in a thing called Rock!"
Fans who pre-order Dreams On Toast from The Darkness's official store will receive access to a pre-sale for the tour, which begins at 10am on Wednesday September 25. The general sale kicks off on Friday, September 27.
The Darkness 2024 UK Tour
07 Mar: Ipswich Regent’s Theatre
08 Mar: Oxford New Theatre
09 Mar: Swansea Arena
11 Mar: Guildford G Live
12 Mar: Hull Connexin Arena
14 Mar: Liverpool Guild Of Students
15 Mar: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
17 Mar: York Barbican
18 Mar: Edinburgh Usher Hall
20 Mar: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
21 Mar: Newcastle O2 City Hall
22 Mar: Manchester O2 Apollo
24 Mar: Bristol Beacon Theatre
25 Mar: Portsmouth Guildhall
27 Mar: Leicester De Montford Hall
28 Mar: Cambridge Corn Exchange
29 Mar: London OVO Arena Wembley
