Pinewood Smile
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2017) |
| Pinewood Smile | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 6 October 2017 | |||
| Studio | Vada Studios (Worcestershire) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:16 | |||
| Label | Canary Dwarf, Cooking Vinyl | |||
| Producer | Adrian Bushby | |||
| The Darkness chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pinewood Smile | ||||
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Pinewood Smile is the fifth studio album released by British hard rock band The Darkness. Produced by Adrian Bushby, the album was released on 6 October 2017 and is the first album by the band to be released by Cooking Vinyl. It is also their full first album to feature Rufus Tiger Taylor on drums, after Emily Dolan Davies left the band in 2015.
Background
[edit]Details of the album were first revealed in March 2017 on the band's Facebook page, and was estimated for released in late 2017. The album's title and more details were later revealed on 21 July 2017,[1] with the album's title being revealed as Pinewood Smile and being given a release date of 6 October through Cooking Vinyl. The album was recorded entirely in Worcestershire in Vada Recording Studios and was produced by award-winning producer and engineer Adrian Bushby, who has worked with other rock bands such as Muse, Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins. That same day, the first single from the album, "All the Pretty Girls", was released. Three other singles from the album—"Solid Gold" and "Southern Trains"[2][3] were also pre-released from the album on 18 August and 25 September respectively with "Happiness" following the album's release on 24 November.
A live version of "Buccaneers of Hispaniola" was a pre-release single in April 2018 for the album Live at Hammersmith[4]
Critical reception
[edit]Pinewood Smile received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71 based on 7 reviews.[5] Kerrang! ranked the album as the 23rd best album of 2017 in their year-end list.[6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Clash | 6/10[8] |
| Pitchfork | 4.8/10[9] |
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Dan Hawkins, Justin Hawkins, Frankie Poullain and Rufus Tiger Taylor
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All the Pretty Girls" | 3:18 |
| 2. | "Buccaneers of Hispaniola" | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Solid Gold" | 4:32 |
| 4. | "Southern Trains" | 2:52 |
| 5. | "Why Don't the Beautiful Cry?" | 3:36 |
| 6. | "Japanese Prisoner of Love" | 4:19 |
| 7. | "Lay Down with Me, Barbara" | 4:05 |
| 8. | "I Wish I Was in Heaven" | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Happiness" | 3:13 |
| 10. | "Stampede of Love" | 3:54 |
| Total length: | 36:16 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Uniball" | 3:33 |
| 12. | "Rack of Glam" | 3:44 |
| 13. | "Seagulls (Losing My Virginity)" | 3:54 |
| 14. | "Rock in Space" | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 51:00 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Why Don´t the Beautiful Cry (demo version)" | 4:18 |
- The vinyl version omits the track "Happiness" due to space limitations.
Personnel
[edit]The Darkness
[edit]- Justin Hawkins – vocals, guitars, piano
- Dan Hawkins – guitars, backing vocals
- Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals
- Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals
Production
[edit]Charts
[edit]| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 17 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] | 8 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] | 90 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[13] | 8 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[14] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 190 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] | 10 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] | 37 |
Singles
[edit]Solid Gold peaked at number 5 on the Kerrang! Rock Chart in September 2017,[18] while Southern Trains reached number 14 on the same chart in October of that year.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ "It's time to smile !!! – "Pinewood Smile" our fifth album". 21 July 2017.
- ^ "Darkness lay into Southern Trains on New Single". 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Google Play Album The Darkness Southern Trains". 25 September 2017.
- ^ "Darkness announce live at hammersmith". 25 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Pinewood Smile by The Darkness". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "Rocklist.net...Kerrang! Lists Page 1".
- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Pinewood Smile – The Darkness". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ Gray, Josh (16 October 2017). "The Darkness – Pinewood Smile". Clash. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ Cohen, Ian (12 October 2017). "The Darkness: Pinewood Smile". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Darkness – Pinewood Smile". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Darkness – Pinewood Smile". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "The Darkness Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ "The Darkness Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "The Darkness Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Kerrang! Rock Chart, Kerrang!, issue 1688, page 14.
- ^ Kerrang! Rock Chart, Kerrang!, issue 1693, page 14.
