Album of the Day

Steve Hackett: Darktown. After several side projects, Hackett returned to the rock world with Darktown. As you might expect from the title, it is indeed a dark and foreboding album, dealing with such subjects as the abusive English "public" school system ("Darktown") and what people do to survive in the face a real horror ("The Golden Age of Steam"). Musically, Hackett adopts some modern touches, including some thumping drum and bass loops on "Darktown Riot" and "Omega Metalicus." While it doesn't always work, it shows an old dog who is not afraid to try some new tricks, which is always a good thing.