After kicking off 2025 with a successful Los Angeles show, indie rock outfit Tombstones In Their Eyes offer up their latest fuzzed-out dish of bliss rock in ‘Mirror’, along with a fine positively-charged kaleidoscopic visual reel created by Italian multi-arts visionary Francesca Bonci.
‘Mirror’ highlights the latest ‘Asylum Harbour’ album from the LA-based psych-rock shoegaze collective, made up onf long-time members John Treanor (vocals & guitar), Stephen Striegel (drums), Courtney Davies (vocals) , Phil Cobb (guitar) and Paul Boutin (guitar), along with new band members Joel Wasko (bass) and Clea Cullen (vocals).
“I’d rather let listeners go where they want with the lyrics as I did write it without conscious thought by singing whatever came to mind (with some tweaks afterward). But in reading the lyrics after the fact, I can see that this song is more direct than most. From my standpoint, the song is about trusting your instincts and your awareness when dealing with love or friendship,” says John Treanor.
“It’s on it’s way to be a happy song until you hit the chorus, with the lyric “I can see it in the gloom”. I consider this one of the sleeper songs on the album for me because I didn’t consider how much I loved it until after the record was complete. I love the harmonies on the choruses. The lead or melody line in the bridge by Paul Boutin is fantastic and even the verse vocal melody is cool (IMHO, of course).”
Named after a maritime phrase for a safe place to wait out a storm and released via Kitten Robot Records, ‘Asylum Harbour’ is about resurfacing in a new phase of healing following the pandemic. Produced and engineered by Paul Roessler (45 Grave, Twisted Roots, The Screamers, Nina Hagen), known for his work with Josie Cotton, Hayley and the Crushers and Gitane Demone, this record was co-produced by the band’s frontman John Treanor and recorded at Kitten Robot Studios.
As a professional new media artist, Francesci Bonci has created videos for numerous artists, including The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Collin Hegna for his Federale project, The Dandy Warhols’ Peter G. Holmström a.k.a. Pete International Airport and Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell. Bonci is a visual champion, highlighting the triumph of color and light in her works and mixing captured photographic images and video with chromatic and luminous tapestries, often using vintage analog elements.
Bonci shares, “This was a very instinctive and emotional video. But this time, it’s more abstract. I perceived and felt many deep things inside the song – like being in that room and seeing John’s soul entering and exiting that mirror. Though seemingly simple, there are a lot of layers one on top of the other, in which I sculpted the emotions that the song suggested to me. I used an analog processor that recreates the atmospheres of old VHS, with which i manipulated the images in a cathode ray tube tv”.
‘Asylum Harbour’ follows the band’s ‘Sea of Sorrow’ album, this new record seeing Treanor pull past the pain, numbness and chaos imbued in that previous offering. Earlier, the band released ‘Sweet as Pie’, ‘I’m Not Like That’, ‘In Your Eyes’ and the supercharged ‘I Like to Feel Good’, its video oscillating between electrified stage performances and a chilled drive through LA, reflecting its lyrics about how one’s inner strength and individuality can be a catalyst for positive change.
What began a decade ago as two childhood friends (Treanor in LA and James Cooper in NYC) swapping demos quickly grew into a full-fledged band with a healthy stream of expansive music, laced with fuzzed out psychedelic majesty. Writing and performing is Treanor’s way to deal with anxiety and depression, to speak about a subject without being the centre of the conversation, and to express oneself in a subliminal way. TITE’s music gazes into the universe as much as inward toward the soul.
‘Asylum Harbour’ is out now, available on CD and on snazzy red vinyl, as well as digitally everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.
TRACK LIST
01. In Your Eyes
02. Sweet As Pie
03. Mirror
04. I Like to Feel Good
05. I’m Not Like That
06. Gimme Some Pain
07. By My Side
08. The Sky Is Blue
09. Set Me Free
10. I Am Cold
ALBUM CREDITS
John Treanor – vocals & guitar
Paul Boutin – guitar & backing vocals
Phil Cobb – guitar
Stephen Striegel – drums & percussion
Nic Nifoussi – bass
Courtney Davies – harmony & backing vocals
Paul Roessler – keyboards, harmony & backing vocals
David Murphy – Pedal Steel guitar on ‘I’m Not Like That’
Recorded at Kitten Robot Studios in Los Angeles, CA
Produced and Engineered by Paul Roessler
Co-produced by John Treanor
Mastered by Alex DeYoung at DeYoung Masters
Digital album UPC 198595938096
CD catalog #KR20241-CD (UPC 706091205507)
Vinyl album catalog #KR20241-LP (UPC 706091205514)
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR