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Sea of Sorrow by Tombstones in Their Eyes–Album Review
Sea of Sorrow by Tombstones in Their Eyes–Album Review
Tombstones in Their Eyes is a thrilling throwback for an LA resident like me. As a new transplant to Los Angeles in the late 90s and early 00s, I arrived at the height of Anton Newcombe’s empire of psychedelic revivalism. Bands like Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Warlocks, the Quarter After, Stevenson Ranch Davidians, and the Tyde ruled the roost in the East LA hip spots like Spaceland and the Echo. While most of those bands took the 60s “country in the canyon” vibe to a higher level, the Warlocks and early BJM were more about drones and fuzz. They brought a more modern flavor to the city’s “Byrds redux” stew. Brian Jonestown melded the country hippy sound with a shoegaze aesthetic formed almost directly from the UK’s Jesus and Mary Chain and Spaceman 3. The band is hard to pigeonhole (thankfully), but Tombstones weaves their sound between Dream Pop, Shoegaze, late-60s Psychedelic, Stoner Rock, and Desert Daze—intensely insistent on their music erupting out of your speakers with fiery, fuzzy guitars and tight, dreamy, ‘verbed out harmonies.
Tombstone’s new album Sea of Sorrow has a subdued and measured sound within a wash of vocal harmonies.
Though Tombstones in Their Eyes took their name from a lyric in Steppenwolf’s classic “The Pusher,” that’s where any similarity ends. While Steppenwolf’s songs were aggressive and bold, Tombstone’s new album Sea of Sorrow has a subdued and measured sound within a wash of vocal harmonies. How does one further describe this band? Dead Meadow but less metallic? Stevenson Ranch Davidians with mumbly vocals? The Black Angels with less melody? Their low-energy fuzz riffery lives between the acid raindrops of Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy and Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Methodrone.
Just by looking at the song titles on Sea of Sorrow, you’ll get a hint of the lyrical content. “Trapped,” “Numb,” “A Way Out,” and “Dead Inside” all show signs that guitarist/singer/songwriter John Treanor is feeling some existential dread. And while the lyrics are proudly dismal on several tracks, “We Are Gold” is closer to a love song and a welcome reprieve from the grim, depressive lyricism. It’s a ray of hope shining in the gloomy hole from which the album resides.
The song “Life” is a crunchy cry of remorse. It has a laid-back stoner rock vibe with John Treanor’s signature mono-drone vocals. It plays like a lost gem from the Warlocks.
The crucial, reverbed vocals combined with the classic three-chord rock of “Heart” is reminiscent of Stevenson Ranch Davidians or Brian Jonestown Massacre in the mid-2000s. This also could have been a Neil Young backing track with different lyrics and vocal timbre.
Karin Johansson
“Hope” has a floaty, Spiritualized feel to it—sounding like a grungy, garage rock version of something off of Lazer Guided Melodies. It also features a ghostly chorus of astronautical voices that should put the listener in the right headspace.
Like a lot of their songs on this release, “Hey Man” features a chorus that creates a hypnotic mantra-like repetition—a riff and lyric that will keep burrowing into your subconscious. Though I wonder if the three̵̵̵̵̵̶̶̶̶̶-chord riffs and drone vocals on the album won’t wear out their welcome over time.
I do have some reservations about this latest offering. The production value of Sea of Sorrow is very different than the promising sound of “I Know Why,” the lead track on their 2022 EP A Higher Place. While it’s a given that an album named Sea of Sorrow SHOULD sound different than one named A Higher Place, the loss of depth and shimmer on this album is a step backward.
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