Justin Hawkins: “Rock is a middle-aged guy in a world full of people who are just generation ‘Whatever the f**k it is now’”
As they release their eighth studio album Dreams on Toast, The Darkness have commented on the state of rock music in 2025.
In an age of dizzying hyperpop and 10-second TikTok soundbites, guitar solos often don’t get the attention they used to. But frontman Justin Hawkins says its imperative rock bands change with the times or risk being left behind.
READ MORE: Steven Wilson: “I love the guitar, but it’s an instrument that belongs to the 20th century in many ways”
“It’s about getting to a certain age and realising that the world’s changing,” he tells Kerrang! in a new interview. “You’ve gotta change or that’s you fucked, you get left behind. That’s rock!”
He goes on: “Rock is a middle-aged guy in a world full of people who are just generation… whatever the fuck it is now. [Rock] has to wake up and be part of it.
“I’m saying that if [rock as a genre] wants to flourish and be the best again, it has to sort of pull its head out of its arse,” he adds. “[It has to] realise that, yeah, Led Zeppelin existed, The Rolling Stones existed, AC/DC existed, but you have to do that for now. That’s what we are.”
Hawkins says a way of doing this is to change some rock’s more archaic traits: “It’s very misogynist, it’s very homophobic, it’s very white, it’s really niche in an old fashioned way.”
It’s a similar sentiment they also share in a new interview with Classic Rock. The band insist their record “subverts” typical rock music tropes, pushing forward the genre for the better. “Rock can be so straight and misogynistic, it drives me mad,” Hawkins says.
Drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor in particular asserts that, considering the current state of the scene, their impact will hopefully give rock the boot that it needs. “I don’t think there’s a lot of good rock bands around at the moment,” he says. Hopefully, The Darkness can change that.
Dreams On Toast is out now. The Darkness are currently out on tour, and you can grab any remaining tickets here.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
