photo by Cathryn Farnsworth
With a healthy clutch of heavy praise bearing releases already under their belt, Los Angeles hailing indie psych rock outfit Tombstones in Their Eyes have just unveiled their new album; a release destined to eclipse all before in acclaim and success. It is a feeling simply hard to escape as the album smothers the senses in its swampy and rousing, enveloping and seductive textures, and one which intensifies with every compelling listen.
The band’s sound is almost suffocating as it surrounds ears with its spatial bound, haze clouded fusion of psych rock and shoe gaze within post rock seeded soundscapes. Each track within the Paul Roessler (Nina Hagen, The Deadbeats, The Screamers, 45 Grave) recorded Maybe Someday provides a dreamscape of suggestion around a sonorous wall of intimation and all go towards making the new Tombstones In Their Eyes full-length one fascinating and invigorating exploration.
From its opening breath, Maybe Someday began surging under the skin, the stormy entrance of opener Open Skies rich in threat and intimation. Those hues only thicken as the sonic flames of guitarists John Treanor and Josh Drew ignite the subsequent melodic stroll of the song, one instantly catchy and captivating with the equally magnetic vocals of Treanor in full sway within its canorous winds.
With a touch of Spacemen 3 meets My Bloody Valentine meets Birdland to it, the track makes a rousing start to the album which its outstanding title track quickly accentuates with its calmer but no less hypnotic proposition. The rhythms of bassist Mike Mason and drummer Stephen Striegel hit their manipulative stride from the off, inciting song and listener alike as the vaporous keys of Treanor echo the harmonic resonance of his voice and the guitars. As the first, it is an infectious almost invasive temptation sparking only an appetite for more which I Want You feeds with its somnambulistic serenade. Flirtation lines its melancholy as radiance wraps its melodic reassurance, individual craft and enterprise accentuating all of its haunting beauty as the album spots another irresistible moment in its still short but already impressive presence.
Shadows cast potent intimation upon the following soul searching Today while Down in the Dirt bears a grungier side to its character while circling the senses with its own individual psych rock nurtured squall as voice and words bear their hearts. Both songs expel mesmeric charm from start to finish, each sharing their unique imaginations before The Demon manages to eclipse both their striking exploits with its surf kissed, self-refection bred rapture and beauty.
Through the muggier climate of Behind My Mind and the similarly intense crawl of The One, Tombstones In Their Eyes brought new dramatic shades to their album’s evolving landscape and thicker pleasure to ears, the latter verging on the predacious as harmonic radiance sweep turbulent mercurial skies. Among many major moments within the release, the song especially stands out before I Believe leaves its infectious mark on the album’s imagination permeating body. As with all tracks drama accompanies craft and imagination, this song especially potent with this mix.
I Can’t Feel It Anymore saunters through ears as it draws the listener into its ethereal embrace, keeping itself grounded with dark and heavy textures to compliment the seducing with the following Up and Down providing a seductive kiss on the senses whilst weaving a post rock nurtured terrain of barb carrying textures.
As it began, the album leaves gripping hold of attention through final track Dreams. Its synth pop opening has a Visage scented breath to its electronic mist from which intimacy soaked shadows and rock grounded volatility brews. The song is pure mesmerism, evolving note by note to never let the listener assume or the imagination settle as it brings a simply spellbinding album to a truly thrilling conclusion.
Maybe Someday is out now via digitally and on limited edition CD through Somewherecold Records; available at https://tombstonesswc.bandcamp.com/album/maybe-someday
https://www.facebook.com/TombstonesInTheirEyes https://twitter.com/tombsinthreyes
Pete RingMaster 12/12/2019
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
An outstanding start is still eclipsed by its successor Lovesick, a song which plays second fiddle to no one. From its beguiling dark rock ‘n’ roll strum, the song canters along with a devilish swing led by another highly flavoursome throaty bassline and catchy riffery matched by flirtatious beats. Think The Birthday Party meets Helldorado and Tones on Tails as a clue to the track’s virulent alchemy; a song with as much fascinating drama as it has addictive infectiousness. Its exceptional incitement is as good as matched by that of 
hypnotic twin drum assault, their craft and temptation measured yet instantly enslaving. There is an energy and hunger to the beginning of the song which makes for a contagious sludge drenched call, riffs carving out a virulent persuasion whilst rhythms and bass define their own enthralling menace to combine for a primal seduction wrapped in a fluid evolution of imaginative and evocative melodic and sonic narrative. Thoughts of bands such as Neurosis and Sunn O))) come to mind but as the piece moves through a piercing sonic tunnel into a heavily weighted and rapaciously intensive dark doom landscape the sound takes on something distinctly unique to the band and visually provocative. The skies have a villainous hue over the track at this point as it lumbers purposefully with a predatory stalking and proceeds to claim any thoughts of escape as it climaxes with a simple but intrusive and lingering sonic breath.