After stepping away from music for a long stretch, Kevin Tiernan found his way back through songwriting, shaping what would become Frightful Places. The project, based in New Haven, Connecticut, is rooted in solitude—songs often sketched out while walking quiet trails, carrying that sense of isolation into their structure. That personal space grew into a five-song EP recorded with Chris Teti at Silver Bullet Studios, with Antonio Mastroianni on drums.
The previous single, “Spirits Are Up!”, framed the softer side of the project.
Chorus.fm described it as “an optimistic anthem that blends the dreamy essence of shoegaze with the vibrant energy of The Cure and Turnover,” produced in a way that feels both hazy and direct. Tiernan’s independent demos gave the track its skeleton, but Teti’s production opened it up, turning an introspective draft into something outward-facing.
At the same time, Tiernan has been steering Frightful Places into a sharper lane. “Third Wheel,” streaming takes that turn. Written by Tiernan, with drums tracked by Mastroianni, produced and engineered by Teti, and mastered by Kris Crummett, the track plays with structure and avoids obvious layering.
“I wanted to get experimental with this one and bring some raw energy, in the vein of Movements, Thrice, and Boston Manor,” Tiernan said. “When I was recording with Mighty Tortuga, I tapped into the screaming range of my voice which I hadn’t really explored. There’s an unconventional formula to the song. The choruses purposefully aren’t doubled and I played around with timing, partially inspired by the time signature of The Exorcist Tubular Bells.”
That willingness to leave space, even let it feel uneven at times, gives “Third Wheel” its identity. The lyrics capture the awkward energy of showing up but not quite fitting in: “I’m the third wheel tripping at your heels / Step on back, I’m just happy to be here.” Instead of trying to mask that unease, the song leans into it.
Frightful Places pulls influence from different directions—Thrice’s guitar grit, Foxing’s expansiveness, the hooks of Citizen. The EP reflects those layers, while the new material edges closer to the immediacy of Boston Manor and the atmospheric drift of Turnover.
Tiernan’s time in Mighty Tortuga, with guidance from producer Fred Mascherino, sharpened his approach, but Frightful Places feels distinctly his own. The name itself signals the project’s ethos: confronting what unsettles you, and finding form in that tension.
