The Afghan Whigs released their musical opus Black Love in 1996 with a view (according to lore) to releasing a film to accompany the record. But it never came to fruition, leaving devotees to wonder what such a visual accompaniment might have looked like. There Is No Light at the End of the Tunnel Because the Tunnel Is Made of Light is Ryan Spencer’s personal rendering of this mythical film-that-never-was in book form.

A writer, photographer and musician, Spencer uses stills from neo-noir films set in Los Angeles that might possibly exist as scenes from the imagined moving picture. With a keen understanding of and appreciation for photography and old cinema, he stitches together a narrative directed by the song titles and linear narratives of Black Love.

Rebecca Bengal’s accompanying fictional essay anchors the book’s stylised, physical 'pulp' qualities.

TBW Books, 272pp, 18cm x 11cm, illustrated paperback (124 plates), 2023