English band The Darkness is a unique study in contrasts. A knack for crafting catchy, heavy-pop hooks like “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” and fearsome technical chops has earned widespread acclaim. The quartet also giddily engages in dumbed-down classic rock tropes, with the bombastic riffs of tunes like “Get Your Hands Off of My Woman” and leering lyrics of glam-strutter “Every Inch of You” crossing into willful inanity. The band cribs brazenly from beloved sources including AC/DC, Queen, Sweet, Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin, while throwing Looney Tunes and “This Is Spın̈al Tap” into the pot for good measure.
Fortunately, all of these conflicts can be ignored as they careen into a tangle of dizzy fun and top-caliber playing. You can allow yourself in on the jokes, smirking at the self-referential “All the Pretty Girls” from recent album “Pinewood Smile.” The ladies “like me for who I am, when the record goes platinum,” sings Justin Hawkins in impossibly high falsetto. Alternately, listeners can simply revel in the high-octane escapism of “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”
The pummeling “Buccaneers of Hispaniola” makes more than a wink toward classic rock staple “Immigrant Song,” but that won’t prevent the tale of pillage and plunder from melting faces when the Darkness’ Tour de Prance visits Park West. The profane and fretboard-splintering “Southern Trains” nods to Motörhead, and will resonate with anyone who’s ever grumbled while a pre-recorded voice apologizes for a track delay on the L or Metra.
The band’s stage show matches its amps-to-11 songcraft. Justin Hawkins is the flamboyant rock god on lead vocal and guitar, launching scissor kicks and handstands from the drum riser. Brother Dan Hawkins is the steady anchor on rhythm guitar, rooted at his Marshall stacks. Bassist Frankie Poullain maintains an air of decadent elegance and conks a mean cowbell.
The band’s sonic debt to Queen is now amplified by blood ties. Prior to the Darkness’ most recent stop at House of Blues, the last time drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor had played in Chicago was alongside his father Roger for a Queen+Adam Lambert show at United Center.
If the Darkness see no need to separate self-deprecating humor from self-aggrandizing posturing during songs like “Solid Gold,” it’s because they’ve got the goods to keep any rock crowd’s attention. Roaring response at recent outings indicates that audiences welcome both the bone-crunching riffs and cheeky fun.
* The Darkness, with Diarrhea Planet, 8 p.m., Apr. 11, Park West, 322 W. Armitage. $29.50 (ages 18+over); ticketfly.com.
Jeff Elbel is a local freelance writer.
