The Darkness have announced their eighth studio album, ‘Dreams On Toast’.
The full-length is set for release in March 2025 via Cooking Vinyl. The band have also shared a new single, ‘The Longest Kiss’, and revealed details of a UK headline tour for March 2025.
Frontman Justin Hawkins comments on the new album, saying: “You know that thing when God’s breath tickles your soul and tells you to create? 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?”
He continues: “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!”
Discussing the new single, Hawkins adds: “Misty Orchards! 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!”
The Dreams On Toast UK headline tour will see The Darkness play 17 shows across the country, concluding at London’s OVO Wembley Arena on 29th March. Support comes from Ash, who first supported The Darkness on their ‘Permission To Land Tour’ over 20 years ago.
Tim Wheeler of Ash comments: “In 2004 we toured the UK’s arenas with The Darkness as ‘Permission to Land’ catapulted them into the big league. 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!”
The tour dates are as follows:
MARCH
7 Regent’s Theatre, Ipswich
8 New Theatre, Oxford
9 Arena, Swansea
11 G Live, Guildford
12 Connexin Arena, Hull
14 Guild Of Students, Liverpool
15 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
17 Barbican, York
18 Usher Hall, Edinburgh
20 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
21 O2 City Hall, Newcastle
22 O2 Apollo, Manchester
24 Beacon Theatre, Bristol
25 Guildhall, Portsmouth
27 De Montford Hall, Leicester
28 Corn Exchange, Cambridge
29 OVO Arena Wembley, London
Tickets go on general sale on 27th September at 10am.
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