Tombstones In Their Eyes - Asylum Harbour ( Kitten Robot Records)

Ever since John Treanor lifted anchor on the USS TITE in 2015 for the band’s debut, Sleep Forever, he has seemingly been adrift on a boat built for one. Over 5 albums and several EP’s and singles later, Treanor has navigated the tumultuous seas in the preverbial void in search of song. It seems however with Asylum Harbour (out Nov.19 via Kitten Robot Records), Trainer has found himself a willing crew, and for this excursion, the tide is high and the clouds are breaking on the horizon. Produced by long time collaborator Paul Roessler (The Screamers, DC3, Prick), TITE latest is its most rewarding.

Depression, addiction and loss have always been the squall manifesting over TITE’s horizon, threatening to capsize the ship along with its captain. The songs on Asylum Harbour however offer alternatives by throwing the mental baggage overseas, at least partially, resulting in a vessel of sound that moves more adapt in the tumultuous seas. If at one point Treanor was the passenger, powerless to where the waters emotions would take him, now his ship breaks through the waves defiantly.

Asylum Harbor sees Treanor in better form than previous excursions, sounding up front and defiant.

Opening track In your Eyes, starts the proceedings with Treanor emerging from chugging guitars. It sounds like it was honed to the point of streamlined before the first chorus bellows in like thunder in the distance. Hypnotic verse meets sing along chorus. Check. The song even gets a solo, which have never been over implemented on TITE’s albums, aways preferring a wall of sound to over ambitious guitars. If TITE were once comfortable existing in the fog of the underground, In Your Eyes is a declaration to be seen.

On Sweet As Pie, we can hear just how much Treanor has come in to being a frontman. The song is a sweet (pun intended) addition to the band’s ever expanding. more sentimental or vulnerable end of the band’s catalog.. The addition of back up vocalist, Courtenay Taylor a circa Looking For A Light, is starting to show returns with her now obvious, counter weight to Treanors narrator. This seems to have opened up more melodies, pushing Treanor into more interesting areas vocally. This match up allowing for a break in the clouds and a little light to shine throughout, this light burns the skin and feels good.

Mirror might reflect Treanor’s desire to wake up in the morning and be content with who he sees in it. The song kinda flows more freely. It’s breezy and cool whereas, I like to Feel Good taps into the darkness. Like the knots of withdrawal, the song twists and turns over the mantra “I like to feel good”, although you get the distinct feeling that the solution for happiness might be chemical in nature, and best avoided for self preservation.

I’m Not Like That, pulls over you like a warm sweater, a touch of Floyd at their most “numb” and sees Treanor in confession mode. Gimme Some Pain strips away the layers, leaving a sparse confession that would feel at home in Alice’s Dirt, It’s probably the closest thing on the album to the original acoustic demo. Treanor often enjoys the process of sharing early song ideas, clearly bridging the gap between listener and fans, from basement to studio, through early demos. It’s the first song in this cycle that drops some black ink into the cup, a little familiarity for the long time fans.

“Gimme some pain ‘cause I’m living, Gimme some pain ‘cause I’m dead… I don’t want to be the one to change.”

Whether Treanor is willing to or not, he has changed. Asylum Harbour stands as a milestone for the band standing as, to these ears, Treanors best work to date.

Within TITE’s lifespan, the band have ventured into new directions, found new sounds, and Treanor emerges as a better songwriter and vocalist charting new territory as they sail on. Perhaps Tombstones In Their Eyes is ready for more discriptives other than Psych -rock.. With Asylum Harbour, Tombstones In Their Eyes have started to part the clouds and leave more space in the songs for light to shine in, but if the last 8 years have demonstrated, there’s always another storm on the horizon.

Asylum Harbour releases November 19th via Kitten Robot Records. Pre-orders for vinyl here: Kitten Robot Records

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