The Julian Temple Band has been around for many, many years and the experience shows. The single I’m reviewing today is named Tunnels, eponymously as it turns out as that is also the name of their seventh album, just released.

Julian Temple sings with an unmissable, unique timbre. One second the post-punk raspy growl of Richard Butler (The Psychedelic Furs), the next the guttural menace of Tom Waits, through to the storytelling baritone of Chris Rea. You get the picture. Put together and you have a seriously accomplished individuality in a vocalist. An ability to emote and be vulnerable while giving you the certainty that he could put a hole on your face with his finger if he was inclined to such acts. I’m talking about underlying, bubbling below the surface menace and power.

This song should be released with a video, frankly. It’s atmospheric to the Nth degree, with a fey, bittersweet instrumentation ensemble giving us a pleasantly varied walk through the abilities of the band members. We have some dark, almost sinister guitars, stripped of false effects, sitting atop some wonderful rhythm. The drums are layered with what sounded like brushes – although I couldn’t be 100% sure, as the studio work has balanced the sound delicately. Kudos.

The orchestration has strings, a melody for midnight in a black room listening to the rain outside, and is about a subject Julian holds close. I’ll let him tell you: “This song is close to my heart. It’s about finding new ways of communicating, especially through music, with someone who has dementia. It’s like she’s been travelling through the multiverse, through many different lives and forms but can’t quite decide which world to stay in. She can’t speak in a coherent manner but can sing a song perfectly and still plays the piano like a boss!”

The “she” he refers to is his mother, who in earlier life had been a gifted jazz pianist. The album Tunnels does itself have considerable jazz vibes to it. Julian says the song is referring to how he views his mother as being on a journey through the multiverse, unable to decide where she belongs.

This is a jazzy, smart piece of work delivered by a band that took its time to get to where we’re listening to it. I hope the guys are signed up for a lot of mechanical licensing platforms, because this music is definitely the soundtrack to a lot of people’s lives in a lot of diverse places. Tunnels the song sounds like its restraint could fall away at any second, but the band has other things in mind for it.

They are going on tour to promote the album. I strongly suspect the tour, and the album, will do well. The band has put in the time and effort over the years, so give this record – and the album – a listen. Go find their socials and have a look at the home page of this site for the tour dates. Intelligent, jazz-infused, avant-garde and professional.