ALBUM REVIEW: The Inklings – The Tunnel At The End Of The Light (self-released)
The Inklings are a Teesside-based music collective formed by two members of now-defunct Billingham punk band Zeitgeist 77.
Darren Thomas (guitar and vocals) and Mick McGee (bass and vocals) are joined by Daz’s son James on drums, and they’re astonishingly prolific.
This is album number five from a band which was only formed in 2019, and they’ve really established their own identity.
They’re still influenced enormously by The Stranglers, but are growing in confidence and picking up new followers all the time.
They are proudly DIY, writing, performing and producing all their songs themselves, though The Stranglers remain an obvious inspiration.
Their previous album, last year’s Bring Out Your Dead (reviewed here) was a step up on 2020’s Bricolage (reviewed here) and that progress is maintained here.
First track In The House Of The Fathers sounds like it’s about to break into the opening chords of Pretty Vacant before veering off in a different direction, and ends up sounding like – yep, you’ve guessed it, those men in black.
Here To Stay‘s intro reminds me of The Animals’ We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, before it too heads off elsewhere, with a lovely meandering bassline and subtle organ flourishes underpinning the entire track.
The reggae-inflected Poundshop Jesus, about the sort of fakers and on-the-makers who are always looking for new ways to fleece the unwary, is not just the best song on this album, but one of their best yet.
I love the chorus: “They call him the Poundshop Jesus, he stole the wood for his cross, as a signal of his virtue, you can pay for his next cause.” Wonder if it’s based on a real person or a figment of The Inklings’ imagination?
Another standout track among the 10 which make up The Tunnel… is The Snake, a faster number which is another cautionary tale about the sort of dodgy character you warn friends to avoid.
The last track Stop! is especially poignant, as the closing drum tattoo was performed by long-time friend of the band Tracey Sneddon just two weeks before she passed away from cancer.
All in all, another very worthwhile addition to The Inklings’ canon of work, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next. I’m sure it won’t be long! 7.5/10
- The Tunnel At The End Of The Light is available digitally from all good streaming services and on CD from The Inklings themselves at gigs or via their Facebook page HERE.
