One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back

"One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back" is a mixed bag. On the one hand you have the familiar power chord driven glam guitar rock from The Darkness's first album, the stellar "Permission to Land." On the other hand you have a band that sounds like it went so far over the top in terms of production values and sound structures that it's even harder to take seriously. Getting past the initial 'What the heck?' stage those the least bit familiar with The Darkness will instantly appreciate what the band has accomplished.

Like I said, this album retains some of the familiar sounds of the first album. The gloriously flamboyant solos and falsetto lyrical works of Justin Hawkins is trademark The Darkness. But that really only covers about one third of the tracks on the album. The others suffer from an identity crisis. For example, the title track has a sitar solo. The song "Hazel Eyes" synthesizes a guitar to sound like bagpipes and is then used to play a blatantly East Asian hook all while singing about a girl from Scotland. There are songs about the fear of balding, "Bald." Songs about falling in love with a cafeteria worker, "Dinner Lady Arms." And the wickedly catchy song about the awkwardness of making love when you haven't done it in a while, "Knockers."

Those familiar with The Darkness and their first album "Permission to Land" generally fall into either the 'love it' or 'hate it' camps, and you can expect the same reaction for their sophomore release. Love it or hate it, though, you have to appreciate a band bold enough to go where The Darkness went and do it with such bravado that one can't help but to be enchanted on some rock and roll loving level.

Grade = B+