British rock group THE DARKNESS have confirmed they will release their third studio album  titled “HOT CAKES” on August 21 via Wind-up (North & South America) and PIAS (UK and rest of the world). After a seven-year wait, HOT CAKES–produced by the band’s JUSTIN and DAN HAWKINS with long-time collaborator Nick Brine and mixed by Bob Ezrin–will deliver the epic rock anthems and infectious pop choruses the multi-platinum band has become renowned for worldwide.

“When we first heard a new Darkness track and after seeing them play live in NYC, we knew The Darkness were back!” explains Wind-up CEO Edward Vetri. “The Darkness and Wind-up make a great rock partnership and we look forward to working with them to launch Hot Cakes.”

The Darkness kick off an Australian tour this week (May 4) before returning to the U.S. May 18 for select dates and three festival appearances: Saturday, May 19 at InfieldFest (Baltimore, MD), Sunday, May 20 atRock On The Range (Columbus, OH) and Saturday, May 26 at Rocklahoma. Following the U.S. shows, they’ll perform festivals across the U.K. and Europe as well as a hometown outdoor headlining gig at Thetford Fest inSuffolk before teaming with Lady Gaga for her “Born This Way Ball” tour. See all confirmed dates below, and tickets are available now at: www.theactualdarkness.com.

Since The Darkness–JUSTIN HAWKINS (vocals/guitars), DAN HAWKINS (guitars/backing vocals),FRANKIE POULLAIN (bass) and ED GRAHAM (drums)–resumed active service almost 12 months ago on the main stage of 2011′s Download Festival with their original line-up, the British group have accomplished a lot. They’ve completed sold-out tours of the UK and North America; were featured in a Superbowl ad (broadcast to over 100 million viewers in the tense fourth quarter of the game); finished recording HOT CAKES and released a free teaser track and video, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us.” HOT CAKES marks the follow-up to the group’s multi-platinum debut Permission To Land–with its fan favorites “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” and “Get Your Hands Off My Woman–as well as the revered One-Way Ticket To Hell And Back which featured “One Way Ticket” and “Is It Just Me?”

So far, 2012 has been a stellar year for The Darkness, described by the LA Weekly as “…heroically reunited, with a returned sense of fun and still this millennium’s most multi-dimensionally entertaining live rock show.” Elsewhere, Yahoo! News noted, “…on the HOB stage, it still came down to the band’s undeniably impeccable pop songwriting on virally infectious glam numbers like ‘Growing On Me,’ ‘Friday Night,’ ‘Is It Just Me,’ and of course ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love.’ Yup, the Darkness are back to rock us like hurricanes, just when we need them most. Permission to land? Permission granted. It’s their world once again” (2/20/2012). AOL Music added, “Transforming the venue into a joyous, raucous, rollicking English-pub, the adoring crowd sang along with the band’s trademark catchy, anthemic choruses and hung on every move of limber lead singer, Justin Hawkins. It was a raise-the-rafters love affair between band and fans that easily could have gone all night” (2/22/2012). The Toronto Star raved: “It was a non-stop barrage of succinct, high-impact popsmithery” (2/2/2012).

THE DARKNESS Headlining shows and Festivals 2012:

DATE                          CITY                           VENUE