Although the British hard rockers The Darkness haven't delivered a weak album yet, it's already clear after a few runs that "Pinewood Smile" is at least as good as the famous debut "Permission To Land" (2003). Among the ten new songs there is not a single gap filler, and the attitude and playfulness of the band are absolutely stirring. A return to top form? You could say that
Guitarist Dan Hawkins - the driving force behind The Darkness along with his brother Justin - is preparing for the tour when the interview with eclipsed takes place. As the 40-year-old reveals right at the start, the band has a new lighting system at the start, with Hawkins trying to coordinate the correct lighting of a cowbell (!). A spinal tap moment that wonderfully expresses the self-ironic attitude of the group.
eclipsed: The title of your new album quotes the famous Pinewood film studios near London. Does one have to imagine a film star smile under a Pinewood smile?
Dan Hawkins: Yeah, that's right. It's like a Roger Moore smile from the seventies, the British version of a Hollywood smile, but with bad teeth! We are big Roger Moore fans and even wanted to name the album after him.
eclipsed: Your last record "Last Of Our Kind" was produced by you. For "Pinewood Smile" you hired the renowned producer Adrian Bushby. What's the matter with you?
Hawkins: Well, I had just become a father when the recording started. I was thinking I would like to concentrate on playing the guitar and would be happy if someone else would take care of the stressful things. After Adrian has done such a good job, it's obvious to hire him again next time.
eclipsed: Did you also feel that you needed an external producer to guarantee a certain degree of objectivity?
Hawkins: No, because we were very focused from the beginning. The demos already sound like a badly recorded version of the final album. But some songs were balladesque, so I said: "The world doesn't need more ballads!" With Adrian we talked a lot about dynamics, because we didn't want an over-compressed sound that can be heard on many current rock albums that have been digitally recorded.
