23 Dec 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking
  • Home »
  • News »
  • Ōtepoti alt rock group Julian Temple Band release their new album 'Tunnels'

Music News - Ōtepoti alt rock group Julian Temple Band release their new album 'Tunnels'

Ōtepoti alt rock group Julian Temple Band release their new album 'Tunnels'

21 September 2023 - 0 Comments

Julian Temple Band are an alternative rock group based in Ōtepoti, Dunedin. With nearly two decades of writing, recording and touring to their name, Julian Temple Band are the personification of musical journeymen.

Centered around the gruff and husky vocal delivery from the group's name sake, Julian Temple Band's line up consists of layers of orchestral strings (Alex Vaatstra), delay-saturated guitars (Andy Straight), and slippery touches of keyboard and synthesisers (Logan Hampton) add a vast depth to the already incredibly tight foundation of funky jangling acoustic guitar and dark vocals (Julian Temple), thumping bass (Stephen Marshall) and precisely dynamic drumming (Paul McLennan-Kissel).

Today the Julian Temple Band release their seventh studio album Tunnels, both digitally and on limited edition vinyl LP (pressed locally at Holiday Records). Tunnels sees the band really hitting their stride, performing to a sell out audiences throughout the South Island and the two lead singles (No Evil and Tunnels) becoming the most streamed tracks of their career to date.

Tunnels

SPOTIFY

BANDCAMP

YOUTUBE

APPLE MUSIC

The Ōtepoti six-piece have been honing their craft of alternative rock for the better part of two decades. Tunnels careens from rough and ready alt rock belters (No Evil, Hide Away) to more sombre numbers made from shuffled drums and lush synth or string arrangements (Library, Guilt, Head In The Clouds). The tracks on Tunnels are held together by Temple's impassioned vocal delivery, one that carries deep emotional resonance. Special mention must be made of a rare Don McGlashan appearance, providing haunting tenor horns to the song Guilt.

Reflecting on how the album fits in their body of work, Temple puts it, “if the first two albums (2009's Quiet Earth and 2010's Balance Escapes) were the feet or the foundations, the second two albums (2011's Nowhere Fast and 2013's Upsidedownbackwards) were the legs, where the band started to run, the third pair of albums (2015's Ceiling In The Sky and 2018's Antarctica) were the hands and arms, where the band started to build a sound of their own; then Tunnels is the torso and more specifically the heart.”

The album’s tracks are a collection of thematic twins interspersed throughout. However the title track, Tunnels, sits on its own, encompassing the theme of the entire album. This song is a reference to Temple’s journey, navigating a way to communicate with his mother, a brilliant jazz pianist who, in his romantic theory, has started to traverse the multiverse and can’t quite figure out which world or life she belongs in. She was committed to a lock-up memory care facility after being diagnosed with dementia, probably brought on by heavy alcoholism - a struggle that runs deep in the themes of much of this work.

“This song is close to my heart,” says Temple. “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!”

With Tunnels now released Temple notes that “This is by far the hardest we’ve ever worked on any album - so it doesn’t come lightly when we say that we are absolutely over the moon to finally be releasing it to the world. It has been an extremely long road to get to this point, with many ups and many downs, and we can’t wait to share the songs with our audience, old and new, through the airwaves and back out on the road live!”

The Julian Temple Band are known for being road dogs, and they are living up to the hype with a 14 date tour through Aotearoa to celebrate the release of Tunnels. Their live show is powerful, with the band honing their craft through years of extensive touring of Australia and the USA.

Catch them:

September 22 - Silverstream Hotel, Kimbell
September 23 - Darkroom, Christchurch

September 29 - Swan Room, Invercargill

September 30 - New Athenaeum Theatre, Dunedin (2 x shows)

October 4 - The Dubliner, Methven

October 5 - Millerton Hall, West Coast

October 6 - Lyric Theatre, West Coast

October 7 - Mussel Inn, Takaka

October 8 - Sprig & Fern on Hardy Street, Nelson

October 13 - Redcliff Cafe, Te Anau

October 14 - Sherwood, Queenstown

October 27 - Moon, Wellington

October 28 - Wine Cellar, Auckland

Tickets are available from Undertheradar, grab your ticket before they’re gone!

Photo Credit: Amanda Konjin


Next: Obituary Announce 'Barely Alive' New Zealand Tour

Prev: Out now, 'Prediluvian' is a taster for the upcoming Anecdata album, 'Aucklantis'

Comments

There are currently no comments for this article. Please log in to add new comments.

Return to News Archive

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • APT.
    ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
    Gracie Abrams
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • SAILOR SONG
    Gigi Perez
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem