Aussie band The Ugly Kings first full-length release ‘Darkness Is My Home’ has a pure almost religious quality that sticks its flag proudly on Rock’s highest summit. This top-drawer record moves majestically while bar hopping between a plethora of artists and genres including Purple, Danzig, Jack White and everything in between. Opener ‘Promised Land’ fuzzes with heavy White Blues searching for Gods soul while a shuddering Page riff and jaw-dropping controlled vocals complete the first offering. Next up is the native pounding ‘Black Widow’ it punches the chest of seventies Rock causing plumes of dust to be drawn from ghostly white lungs suddenly awoken by a caffeine-laced hammer jolt of former glories. ‘Raging Bull’ follows the same modernistic nostalgia-fest of denim, leather and a deep understanding of tip-top songwriting.The Gahan-esque vocals on ‘Killing Time’ flow perfectly against the Rock tide and the subtle white horse cocktail surfs purposely towards the sand. Both ‘Love Enemy’ and ‘You And Me’ could/should be covered by the house band from that infamous dive bar The Titty Twizzler (Dusk Till Dawn). While the morose ‘Lazarus’ proceeds like a funeral procession before ‘Little Birdy Told Me’ explodes with a Cult/Duffy riff before warmly embracing The White Stripes and Sabbath with an added pinch of Rage Against The Machine. Closer ‘The Fire’ puts a glazed cherry on this beautiful multi-layered Rock trifle, rich in heritage, sound and substance, it’s a stupendously more-ish album.
THE UGLY KINGS
DARKNESS IS MY HOME
Kozmik Atrifactz
9/10