The Darkness return with new album, single and UK tour

By
( )
published

The Darkness will release new album Pinewood Smile in October and tour the UK this winter - listen to new track All The Pretty Girls

The Darkness
The Darkness (Image credit: Simon Emmett)

The Darkness have announced that they’ll release a new studio album later this year.

The follow-up to 2015’s Last Of Our Kind is titled Pinewood Smile and will launch on October 6 via Cooking Vinyl.

To mark the announcement, The Darkness have released a stream of the lead track from the album All The Pretty Girls which can be heard below.

Frontman Justin Hawkins says: “Why should anybody care? Because if you don’t, we’re fucked! History will remember us as the apathetic generation who negligently ushered in a dreadful dystopian age that may or may not come to be known as The Rise of the Arseclowns.

“We cannot allow this to continue! You may not give a shit about Brexit or Trump, but please, give a shit about The Darkness otherwise the last bastion of cultural sensibility will fall and our airwaves will be polluted by meaningless pop purveyed by arseholes and morons… Oh wait!”

The band have also announced a run of UK tour dates which will take place throughout November and December. Find a full list of dates below.

A documentary about The Darkness is also planned for 2018, with filmmaker Simon Emmett sifting through more than 250-hours of footage for the film. The film is seeking £25,000 in crowdfunding, with the total so far sitting just under £10,000.

The Darkness Pinewood Smile tracklist

  1. All The Pretty Girls
  2. Buccaneers Of Hispaniola
  3. Solid Gold
  4. Southern Trains
  5. Why Don’t The Beautiful Cry?
  6. Japanese Prisoner Of Love
  7. Lay Down With Me, Barbara
  8. I Wish I Was In Heaven
  9. Happiness
  10. Stampede Of Love

The Darkness 2017 UK tour dates

Nov 23: Southampton O2 Guildhall
Nov 24: Manchester Academy
Nov 25: Blackburn King George’s Hall
Nov 27: Leeds O2 Academy
Nov 28: Newcastle O2 Academy
Nov 29: Glasgow O2 Academy
Dec 01: Stoke-On-Trent Victoria Hall
Dec 02: Nottingham Rock City
Dec 03: Norwich UEA
Dec 05: Guildford G Live
Dec 06: Margate Winter Gardens
Dec 07: Southend-On-Sea Cliffs Pavilion
Dec 09: Birmingham O2 Academy
Dec 10: London Eventim Apollo
Dec 11: Brighton Dome
Dec 13: Cardiff St David’s Hall
Dec 14: Bristol Colston Hall

The Darkness Quiz: Permission To Land

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.