''Tired Eyes Slowly Burning'' is the debut album of the Canadian band The Tear Garden, released in 1987 through

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

. It is the band's first studio album, preceded by their self-titled EP released a year prior. That EP is appended to the end of ''Tired Eyes Slowly Burning'' as tracks 7 to 10.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Sean Carruthers wrote, "it mixes together to create a dreamy electronic mix that owes something to both

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

and

The Legendary Pink Dots The Legendary Pink Dots (aka LPD) are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. In 1984, the band moved to Amsterdam, playing with rotating musicians and having, as core members, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Edwar ...

, but is nonetheless totally different. Think

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

on a scary electronic acid trip and you're getting close." James Muretich of the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' felt the album was more enjoyable than the output of Ka-Spel and Key's respective bands at the time, and said that it "engrosses the senses with its eerie but enticing psychedelic/electronic sound". Tom harrison of ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they ...

'' likened the album to the work of

and praised the two musicians for leaving their comfort zone to produce an album that he thought was "palpably romantic".

Track listing

All songs written by

cEvin Key Kevin William Crompton (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as cEvin Key, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, and composer. He is best known as a member of the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded in 1982 ...

and Edward Ka-Spel.

Personnel

Personnel adapted from liners notes. The Tear Garden * Edward Ka-Spel – lyrics, vocals, music *

– lyrics, music, engineering, mixing Additional musicians *

Dwayne Goettel Dwayne Rudolph Goettel (February 1, 1964August 23, 1995) was a Canadian Electronic music, electronic musician, best known for his work in the industrial music group Skinny Puppy. Starting his career playing for a variety of acts around Edmonton, h ...

– keyboards (1, 2, 3, 5) *

Dave Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician based in Vancouver. Ogilvie started his recording career as a mixing engineer at Mushroom Studios. He frequently collaborated with industrial band Skinny Puppy ...

– guitar and tapes (1, 5), engineering, mixing *Lee Salford – percussion (2, 5) *Lisa – vocals (4) *

Nivek Ogre Kevin Graham Ogilvie (born December 5, 1962), known professionally as Nivek Ogre, is a Canadian musician, performance artist and actor, best known for his work with the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded with cEvin Key. Si ...

– vocals (5) Technical personnel * Steven R. Gilmore – artwork *Greg Sykes – typography

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums The Tear Garden albums Nettwerk Records albums