The clown princes of poodle-rock are back with their eighth album, and it’s packed with plenty of tongue and a lot of cheek. Once again steadfastly resisting the urge to write their own ‘Jazz Odyssey’, the spiritual sons of Spinal Tap stick with their signature sound – perhaps best described as, “What if Frankie Howerd grew up listening to Wolfsbane and decided to start a band?”

Featuring tales of marathon shifts (‘The Longest Kiss’) and rock and roll party cowboys (erm, ‘Rock And Roll Party Cowboy’), there’s a few tasty riffs and some rib tickling lyrics for diehards to sink their teeth into.

The sax-fuelled, Status Quo-meets-Mud stomper ‘I Hate Myself’ will be a blast live, while the ‘Mr. Blue Sky’-minded ‘The Longest Kiss’ is the right mix of silly and sweet. Best of all is ‘The Battle For Gadget Land’, which sees them raise the tempo and lower the tone. while trying their hand at Josh Homme-style desert rock.

For those not in on the joke, Dreams On Toast might just sound a bit stale. And the bizarre, telenovela-flavoured closer ‘Weekend In Rome’ is very odd indeed.

Still, the Darkness faithful will no doubt have their air guitars at the ready.

5/10