LA psych-rock outfit Tombstones In Their Eyes present the single 'You Never Have to Love Me', occupying the uneasy space between collapse and clarity, tracing a moment where survival demands self-reckoning and the realization that repair begins from within. It is showcased by a superb layered and color-rich video by Francesca Bonci, who earlier created videos for the singles 'Under Dark Skies' and Alive and Well', dedicated to guitarist Paul Boutin, who recently lost his battle with cancer.

'You Never Have to Love Me' is lifted from the band's latest (and now acclaimed) album 'Under Dark Skies', released via Little Cloud Records (North America) and Shore Dive Records (UK and EU). Recorded and engineered by Paul Roessler (The Screamers, Nina Hagen, 45 Grave) at Kitten Robot Studios, which was co-produced by John Treanor and mastered by multi-platinum engineer Alex DeYoung at DeYoung Masters (Michael Jackson, BTS, Macy Gray, The Linda Lindas, TSOL).

What began a decade ago as two childhood friends (John Treanor in LA and James Cooper in NYC) swapping demos quickly grew into a full-fledged band. Today, Tombstones In Their Eyes is made up of John Treanor (vocals & guitar), Stephen Striegel (drums), Courtney Davies (vocals), Phil Cobb (guitar), Nic Nifoussi (bass) and Clea Cullen (vocals). Guitarist Paul Boutin remains a member of the band in spirit, having passed away in mid-October 2025.

"'You Never Have to Love Me' was written in September 2023 during a fertile period of writing. I was not doing well emotionally, and there was no intended meaning to the song as I wrote it. But as I look back on it now, this song seems to be about acknowledging my failures and attempting to find grace. The idea that “you never have to love me” is really about how I first need to love myself before I can attempt to make things right," says John Treanor.

"There are a lot of musicians on this track, with 3 guitar players, 6 people contributing vocals, 2 bass players and 1 drummer and 1 keyboard player. We split the bass parts as Joel was not longer going to be in the band and Nic was coming back in. I had them both do parts and we used some of each. Phil did an amazing outro guitar part that to me is a highlight of the song."

Complementing the A-side is another psychedelic gift in the B-side 'Everybody's Dead', which thrives on instinct rather than intention, letting subconscious fragments spill out in a way that is both sincere and surreal. It also marks a quiet origin point for the band, capturing the beginning of long-running creative partnerships that would go on to shape their sound for the next decade.

John Treanor explains, "We originally released this song on our 2016 'Bad Clouds' EP, which we didn't promote at all. I just let words come out of my mind impromptu while singing over the track, allowing things to seep out of the subconscious, sometimes real and sometimes nonsensical. This was the first record fully done at Kitten Robot Studio with Paul Roessler and the first time we worked with drummer Stephen Striegel, who is still in the band today. It was the start of 10 years of working with both of them."

'You Never Have to Love Me' is out now digitally, including Spotify, Apple Musicand Bandcamp, where the 'Under Dark Skies' album can also be found. The album is also available on vinyl via Little Cloud Records (North America) and Shore Dive Records (UK and the EU).

CREDITS
Written by John Treanor

Recorded & Mixed by Paul Roessler at Kitten Robot Studios (Los Angeles, CA)

Produced by Paul Roessler and John Treanor

Videos by Francesca Bonci
Band photos by Karin Johansson
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR