The Darkness are huge in the U. K. This is their first record and it debuted atop the British charts, the last time a band pulled this off was Coldplay 3 years ago. How they'll eventually be received stateside is going to be interesting. This album tends to polarize people. You either just sort of get it and let yourself go with it, or you it rubs you the wrong way and that's that.

They play an unabashed brand of retro riff-rock that at it's hardest reminds of Early AC/DC, a little like Boston in their poppier moments, like the Stones or Aerosmith when they honky tonk it a bit and at their worst they sound a little like 80s hair bands. Their songs are undeniably infectious because they build most of their choruses around old-school style licks, but just when I think they're so retro I recognize something that sounds typical of an Emo song. Rock and Roll is a three ring circus and the rings tend to overlap quite a bit.

The divisive element of the band is it's founder, writer and singing frontman Justin Hawkins. It's his lyrics and vocals that makes you wonder if the band is a send-up (Spinal Tap) serio-satire (Tenacious D) or the Brit version of Queens of the Stone Age, whose singer just happens to sound like a cross between Geddy Lee, Freddie Mercury and Robert Smith.

I see the band having a tough time finding permission to land in the states mainly because these guys are a metal band, who are pretty much about having fun with the genre; whereas the vast majority of the metal that's popular these days is all about brooding anger and angst. This may hurt their cause, and if that doesn't, Hawkins over-the-top falsetto vocals may prove to be a stumbling block. Whatever the case, I'm in.