Seeing images of Thomas Cohen splashed all over the front page of yesterday’s Evening Standard – following the reports confirming that his wife, Peaches Geldof, died as a result of a heroin overdose – prompted the recollection that Cohen’s debut solo single had been unveiled on YouTube in October last year. To date the track has not seen the light of day through an official release, and presumably the tragedy in his personal life has quite rightly put any promotional activity to one side for now.

‘Honeymoon’ is a long, woozy number that’s impossible to consider now without thinking about Cohen’s loss. The song is a languid, heartfelt, romantic song that finds the singer dispensing with the gloomy goth overtones for something bordering on Leonard Cohen’s particular brand of introspective, poetic torch song. There’s a sense of Cohen here cradling his wife, telling her he’ll keep her safe from harm, that all they need is one another and nothing more; whether that’s just something you hear filtered through what you imagine he must be going through today is debatable, but irrespective, with its sparse arrangements, monolithic guitar riffs and plaintive sax, this shows that Cohen’s post-S.C.U.M work was likely to be heading in an interesting – if unexpectedly tender – direction.

The track can be heard above.

Stay strong Thomas.

Thanks to Jorge.

(c) 2014 Mat Smith / Documentary Evidence