nme singles, jim wirth
12th april 2003

Bedsitland calling. A DIY sneakster from north London, Tears In X-Ray Eyes is but one man - Tim Closs - but with his breezy gift for modest, multi-layered excellence, he's a tiny pop empire. 'Sleep Like A Dream' extols the same blurred pop virtues as the excellent Buffseeds. 'I am indie - hear me roar', it warbles, en route to the all-night garage for some Jaffa cakes.

organ fanzine
7th april 2003

A rather different mix of relaxed electronica and refined acousticness, an unobtrusive lyrically sharp meeting of Lightning Seed craft and Mercury Rev sparkle this time around. They're from London and this is their fifth ambitious release, they're always worth your time.

www.losingtoday.com
11th may 2003

Feature star in the last Singled Out missive, the multi talented Tim Closs returns with four more trembling slabs of tear-provoking passionate pop. Tim is one of those tortured artists who’ve been touched by the sadness stick, like Paddy McAloon before him, he has the ability to tune into the frailty of the human psyche and release the pangs of heartache to a listening audience like a magician armed with a hat full of rabbits, to this he ably applies emotionally sympathetic orchestrations that act as cathodes charging the senses and heightening the tragedy. 'Sleep like a dream' opens the set, initially sounding like the Bunnymen it quickly unfurls to a sweetly intoxicating upbeat pop gem that bears a passing exuberant glance to the Lightning Seeds. 'In these arms' is immersed in a piano-led ballad-esque glow that recalls the more personalised and thoughtful moments from the Queen canon. 'The charge of the light brigade' from its opening sequence would have you swearing it was Thom Yorke providing the vocals, the same cutting melancholia, the melodies swoop and arc with pulsing grandeur, the peeping nature of the string arrangements give it a wintry Christmas appeal, a smouldering gem. 'Wherever you are (you'll find me there)' trickles with a romantic lilting beauty tinged with an underlying sombre and reflective mood. Essential tools for listening, a box of hankies or a heart made of granite. A treasure trove.

tasty fanzine
issue 20

Four more beautiful lullabies from Tim Closs and his TIXRE pals. This sees the group treading an even more commercial sound than ever before, with the title track coming on like a very commercial Suede track, but with a decent piano and guitar solo thrown in. Meanwhile, 'In These Arms', possibly the best track of the four sounds like Closs performing a solo in a church or something. Aided only by a piano, his fragile voice sounds even more spint-tingling than ever. I dunno when someone is going to make TIXRE very famous indeed, but they should pull their finger out and get it sorted.