Tombstones in Their Eyes ‘Fear’ Review: space-psych L.A. trio conjure weird and wonderful textures on new EP.

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With their B-movie horror moniker and album artwork, one could be forgiven for thinking that L.A. trio Tombstones in Their Eyes were some type of doom or sludge metal group. But you’d be mistaken.

Yes, the group are certainly dark and brooding, but as their new 5-song EP Fear clearly proves, their unique sound defies easy classification. This is fitting given the group cite such disparate acts as The Melvins, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Elliot Smith as their primary influences.

Opening track I Want to Fly begins with a leaden, ominous stoner riff before cascading into pools of rippling psychedelia, with John Treanor’s whispered vocals sounding like a trapped soul needing sweet release from shadowy confines.

Separate combines shoegaze soundscapes with garage rock flair, resulting in glorious trippiness, offering an intricate layering of sound, resulting in a dense tapestry of groove and texture.

Always There is a gorgeous minor-key ballad which has touches of Pink Floyd. Its stately composition offers a sense of restraint that adds tension and weight to Treanor’s emotive croon, while the cinematic Another Day is a forlorn number dripping with atmosphere, with billowing flange guitar that compliments the melancholy melody to sublime effect. The vocal harmonies on that track are particularly affecting, recalling classic 60’s folk rock.

Fear closes with the title track, featuring a tambourine tinged beat recalling a heavier version the Velvet Underground’s Venus in Furs, underpinned by the oppressive mantra “it keeps me down.”

Fear is an excellent EP that offers something new out of familiar templates–a mixture of classic psych, stoner rock and the undefinable extra. It’s a dark delight foreshadowing what one hopes is a long career to come

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