The Darkness have announced their eighth studio album, Dreams on Toast, arriving in March 2025 via Cooking Vinyl. The lead single “The Longest Kiss” is out now.
The three-minute nugget is a love letter to ’70s pop rock a la Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wings. Frontman Justin Hawkins puts the full range of his voice to use on the melodic number, which features prominent piano and stylish guitar licks.
“Misty Orchards! That’s not my porn name, that’s the kind of scenery that I love,” remarked Hawkins of the track in the album press release. “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.”
Regarding the musical accompaniment, Hawkins added: “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 ever-cheeky Hawkins said that the band tapped into “the elite songs, the life-changing music of the ages” to create Dreams on Toast, which sports a stylish album sleeve by artist Perry Shall that could’ve adorned a late ’70s Sparks LP.
“Then we popped out a dozen bangers before lunch,” Hawkins continued. “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!”
The Darkness — whose staple song “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” recently vaulted to No. 1 on the iTunes rock chart thanks to Taylor Swift — will be supporting the release of the new album with a March 2025 UK tour with Britpop vets Ash (get tickets here). The trek is highlighted by a finale at OVO Arena Wembley on March 29th in London.
You can pre-order Dreams on Toast on vinyl, CD, and cassette via the band’s online store. Stream “The Longest Kiss” and see the album art and UK tour dates below.
Dreams on Toast Artwork:
The Darkness’ 2025 Tour Dates:
03/07 – Ipswich, UK @ Regent’s Theatre *
03/08 – Oxford, UK @ New Theatre *
03/09 – Swansea, UK @ Arena *
03/11 – Guildford, UK @ G Live *
03/12 – Hull, UK @ Connexin Arena *
03/14 – Liverpool, UK @ Guild Of Students *
03/15 – Wolverhampton, UK @ Civic Hall *
03/17 – York, UK @ Barbican *
03/18 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall *
03/20 – Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall *
03/21 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 City Hall *
03/22 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo *
03/24 – Bristol, UK @ Beacon Theatre *
03/25 – Portsmouth, UK @ Guildhall *
03/27 – Leicester, UK @ De Montford Hall *
03/28 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange *
03/29 – London, UK @ OVO Arena Wembley *
* = w/ Ash
