Frightful Places // Frightful Places // EP Review

Frightful Places is another project which has come out of the lockdowns of the past few years, this time coming from guitarist and songwriter Kevin Tiernan. Tiernan has been part of many projects over the years collaborating with others on musical adventures including Moving Brooklyn and Mighty Tortuga however this is a solo project. Taking the nostalgia of the ’00 and ’10s Emo phase of music, Tiernan has created a self-titled passion project that any millennial is sure to fall in love with.

The title track “Frightful Places” has soft vocals positioned against heavier melodies, taking you back to when music like this was a standard amongst bands who concentrated on how the music made you feel. Moving through to “Still” is a track that is much more reminiscent of bands such as Hawthorne Heights with deep lyrics that leave you in a reflective mood. While there is a sense of Emo music being more on the depressive side of things, this is not always the case and this EP is an example of this as “Eklund Garden” and “Stuck” throw in a much more upbeat sound that could easily find itself on a ‘happy’ playlist. The lyrics still follow a deeper dive into emotions and feelings but set against a more cheerful melody. The EPs 5 tracks move into one another seamlessly so that you find yourself realising that you’ve listened to the EP several times without noticing. This easy flow allows the music to wash over you so that you can choose to have this on in the background or listen closely taking in each word with the same ease.

After listening to the single “Old Frames” I knew that this EP would be something special and right up my street as a former unashamed “Emo kid” and I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed! Frightful Places takes you on a nostalgic trip while still being relevant in today’s world. Who knows if this project will continue but I know that if it does it will be gladly accepted by many to take on those old feelings once more.

Review: Emmie Ellis