nme singles
9th december 2000
april long

Don't know too much about who Tears In X-Ray Eyes are or where they're from, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that they probably own a few records by The Smiths. When it opens, 'Stained Glass' sounds like 'Edelweiss', but somewhere along the course of its quiet, gloomy bedsit-and-thunderstorms three-and-a-half minutes, it nods to Belle & Sebastian, before genuflecting ardently to Mozzer. "Give me the real thing, please", a tremulous boy-voice pleads and, strangely, you don't necessarily feel inclined to echo his request. For Tears In X-Ray Eyes' sleepy, lovelorn strummings are both satisfying and warmly compulsive. 'Don't Crush The One You Love' (not, incidentally, about inappropriate weight distribution, but about, you know, being nice) even shivers and glides like Bright Eyes without the perched-on-the-abyss'-edge torment, rendering it slightly less than thrilling, but enchanting nonetheless.

Like the band name itself, all of this could either be pretentious bunkum or a statement of sweet cunning, depending on your inclination. Available on white vinyl only; but of course.

impact (bath student newspaper)
12th march 2001
gareth walters

TEARS IN X-RAY EYES' debut double A-sided limited edition white 7 inch is one of the most moving and heart-string-pulling releases I have heard in ages. Stained glass is beautiful acoustic bliss. Angelic vocals combined with graceful piano strike the listener as remarkable.

It is Radiohead-esque but with none of that doom and gloom and "why is it so unfair?" moaning. Don't crush the one you love has an orchestral percussion underpinning it. A downcast tone and haunting electronics make this sound like calm in chaos. This release is distributed through Cargo and its catalogue number is xrayv01.

playlouder.com
12th march 2001
iain moffat

But once you've dried your eyes, why not let PlayLouder be your guide to the exciting world of the future as we bring you not one, not two, but THREE vinyl-only releases! The first of which, as it happens (hang your head in shame if you've just gone "guys and gals"...), is on particularly attractive heavyweight brilliant white vinyl. Ah, Tears In X-Ray Eyes, you have found our weakness. Mind you, we wouldn't have overlooked either side of his double-A 'Don't Crush The One You Love'/'Stained Glass' (on Test Tube) anyway, as, though no Ben Christophers (for whom Tears, we believe, plays keyboard), his pipes do err on the side of the angelic, and we also have reason to believe he may have heard of the Go-Betweens, judging by both tracks here. The former is probably the lovelier of the two, but, in the buzz phrase of the last six months, it's too close to call.