I have to agree. And at certain times, Hawkins reminds me of a young Robert Smith. Most times, he's doing a great Rob Halford imitation. As a matter of fact, if Justin Hawkins didn't sing the way he does, I might not have liked the disc as much as I do. But it's really all about the songs, and they've got some pretty catchy and irresistible ones. -Bob "AssociationWorks" Sent by: audities-owner@smoe.org 02/02/2004 11:41 AM Please respond to audities@smoe.org To cc Subject Re: Americans Just Don't Get It... This is really firing up some interesting discussion on how folks perceive the Darkness. Quite a polarizing band I must say... Still, I don't see them a "joke band". To me, this is a serious rock band having a good time, singing dumb lyrics, and bringing fun back to rock. Isn't that what power pop is all about? The first time I heard the band...I actually didn't even think about their look or "schtick"; I just heard a good, loud, melodic rock n' roll band. Yeah...the falsetto straddles the line between annoying and bearable in spots...but when the guy gets in the right range, he's actually a decent singer. Jeff