The Darkness Indulge In Self-Deprecation With ‘I Hate Myself’

We’ve been given a promising second glimpse into The Darkness’ upcoming album ‘Dreams on Toast’, which is due in March.

Despite being released during the festive season, ‘I Hate Myself’ is not a sleigh-bell laced follow-up to their Christmas classic ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)’, if you couldn’t tell from its jolly title.

Instead, this single comes in full glam-rock stride, and Hawkins belts sorrow lyrics so exuberantly: “There goes the best thing that ever happened to anyone” and refers to “a girl I was incredibly cruel to”, presumably the root cause of the track’s confessional self-hatred.

The chorus really hits in the band’s vivid style as Hawkins utilises his notable falsetto, with his five-octave vocal range, and sings “Oh I hate myself, I hate myself, I do / Oh I hate myself, so you don’t have to”.

Hawkins maintains impressive vocal heights along with the track’s feisty riffs so well that this track is on par with their past hits such as ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ from their 2003 debut album. The band celebrated that album’s 20th anniversary last year, and no matter what has happened in between then and now, their recent work shows they are still incredibly ambitious yet true to that form.

‘I Hate Myself’ was the second single from their approaching album after ‘The Longest Kiss’, which was released in September. The first single embraced a classic rock sound and remained as theatrical as The Darkness are known to be. ‘The Longest Kiss’ is said to pay tribute to ‘70s-era Queen, a homage which you can hear instantly.

Their last full album was 2021’s ‘Motorheart’, which spawned excellent, punkier tracks like ‘It’s Love, Jim’ as well as the unique and amusing ‘Welcome Tae Glasgae’. Hawkins said at the time that they made it due to their “truly memorable” experiences in Scotland’s largest city.

The Darkness played some intimate dates at three Rough Trade stores this month, but they’re getting properly back on the road in March 2025, alongside their album release. 

They’re due to play around 20 dates across the United Kingdom, which include London, Glasgow and Newcastle. They’re also on the line-up for Download next year, joining headliners Green Day, Korn and Sleep Token at the rock festival.

Kai Palmer

@kailewispalmer

Image: ‘I Hate Myself’ Official Single Cover

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