CD REVIEW – TEX PERKINS & THE DARK HORSES – Tunnel At The End Of The Light

Shane | 7 August 2015 | Reply

CD REVIEW – TEX PERKINS & THE DARK HORSES – Tunnel At The End Of The Light
Dark Horse Records/Inertia
17 July, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

There’s a temptation to view the new album from Tex Perkins & the Dark Horses as lazy or languid, but its laid back grooves hide a deeper purpose – a striving, thoughtful, urgency at the heart of the record.

The Dark Horses ponder the mysteries of the universe in grand style, sounding effortlessly louche in the process. Perkins vocals sound a hair’s breadth away from cracking at times, such is the longing in his voice – it’s testament to the honesty in this band that they don’t try to paper over that, instead allowing it to add appeal and feel.

Meanwhile the band are just amazing. Part ‘70s Stones, part hungover barroom blues band, they distil all their experiences into a sparse soundtrack, one where what isn’t played is more important than what is.

Like any hangover worth it’s salt (and lime, and tequila), Tunnel At The End Of The Light is looking for answers. What did I do, where did we go, what was it all for, should I have done it differently? The answer is – as it always should be when no-one got hurt – who cares… and pass the bottle.

The eight-plus-minute long Slide On By is the apex of the dream-like feel on Tunnel…, but it’s an album which sounds perfectly when heard as a block of music rather than cherry picking a song here, or a song there. Best absorbed over a few listens, Tunnel… is a perfect example of an album which will reward time spent with it many times over.