Bestial Mouths - "Heartless"

When I first heard Bestial Mouths, I thought I was listening to a more industrial version of Diamanda Galás. At the same time, the powerful vocals of the lead singer took me to a different place than that of Diamanda’s songs. Slightly darker, savage and filled with anguish and the unknown.

Bestial Mouths is an L.A. based band which clearly doesn’t fit a single music category. Ranging from post-punk, goth to industrial and even power electronics, their music is most of all confrontational and engaging, inviting the listener to question and try to understand it. You can’t really listen to Bestial Mouths passively because there’s too much going on. Like any other art, music is supposed to move you, to make you feel something and even to doubt that feeling, and this is exactly what Bestial Mouths is doing.

Their latest creation, Heartless, is out on famed label Cleopatra Records and comes as a continuation of, and even a progression from, their previous releases. Lynette Cerezo, the main voice of Bestial Mouths, says this about Heartless:

“This album I feel captures the true essence of Bestial Mouths as we were able to rerecord new versions of past songs along with new ones (showing a scope of our progression). The new songs are extremely personal to me which I feel curated the whole LP's concept and feel (the art work and new video for Heartless (soon to be released) put these emotions into visual form).”

For your listening pleasure, we are proud to feature one of our favorite tracks, "White Eyes", exclusively streaming for The Brvtalist:

<a href="http://bestialmouths.bandcamp.com/album/heartless">Heartless by Bestial Mouths</a>

The album is filled with powerful energy, bringing us a metallic sound, with thick, heavy synths. The opening track “Grayed”, not only sets the mood, but also gives the listener proof that this LP is indeed a complex and provocative creative result. The powerful percussive rhythms of “White Eyes” create a story that’s being backed by ritual-like music, danceable grooves and a strong feral feel. Like on their previous albums, the lyrics follow the stream-of-consciousness format that’s characteristic of their style, and the piercing vocals resemble the sirens’ call - especially on “Small Pray” and “Heartless”, forcing the listener to succumb to the mesmerizing music of the band.

Heartless is a powerful and exciting release that take's the band's work to a whole new level. Head over to their Bandcamp page to buy the album, and if you’re in Europe, you might get the chance to catch them live, as they are in the middle of their EU tour (see dates below).

-Mărie Bungău
Twitter

Head Dress - "Slow Chime"

Ted James Butler is an audio/visual artist living in L.A. who creates dark and moody soundscapes under the name of “Head Dress”, and he’s also the host of a cassette-based, underground and experimental music podcast, Norelco Mori.

His latest release, “Slow Chime”, out on Hylé Tapes, is a 4-track cassette which brings us a heavily noise infused sonic experience, with dense, tribal influences.

From the artist:

"Slow Chime, If I recall correctly, was made almost entirely on my (beloved) Make Noise system. The 4 tracks were recorded over several weeks in Los Angeles. Side A highlights some variation to repetitive themes, and the first 2 tracks are duets with a prominent percussive element amidst an atmospheric backdrop of some kind.

I was pretty devastated to hear news of Nick Talbott's recent passing, so the 3rd track is dedicated to his Warp-signed project, Gravenhurst. His albums have been a huge inspiration in my work, even though that may not be immediately evident in my recordings. This is another 2 voice piece, that quietly meanders around for a bit before slowly fading into the distance. I think I used the new KORG Electribe for the haunting pad loop, patched into the modular.”

Having a different approach than his recent "Crawl, Take" release for “Cønjuntø Vacíø.", I would say that “Slow Chime” takes the shape of a rite of passage the listener needs to experience in order to fully internalize and accept a loss, in the same way the artist did. As Lars von Trier portraits in his “Antichrist”, death is followed by the “Three Beggars”: grief, pain, and despair. Similarly, “Coats”, “Slow Chime”, and “Gravenhurst” encompass 3 different emotions experienced by the listener, who’s taken into a journey accompanied by strong percussions creating a somehow ritualistic mood. Each track seems to pick you up from where the previous left off, in an attempt to create a homogenous experience.

After you dive in the discordant and muddy subconscious created by the first 3 tracks, “Ti11262014lT”, probably my favorite from this release (and not judging by the length might I add) comes as the final catharsis that marks the listener’s emotional transformation, a piece where all the sounds from the previous ones blend into a complex, dualistic and noisy 14-minutes long track. While the first half creates the image of that inner darkness towards which we tend to gravitate in our most low and harsh moments, the second one abandons the noisy patterns for a more peaceful and almost therapeutic dénouement. For more information please visit the following:

Hylé Tapes>> http://www.hyletapes.com/

Norelco Mori>> http://www.norelcomori.com/

Cønjuntø Vacíø bandcamp>> https://conjuntovacio.bandcamp.com

Ted James soundcloud >> https://soundcloud.com/tedjames

-Marie Bungau
twitter.com/mariebungau

Hørd - Focus on Light

Hørd is no stranger to the Brvtalist and with a debut LP out on Giallo Disco it made sense to feature this mesmerizing ice-cold wave music once again. Giallo Disco Records is a label specializing in horror disco, drawing influences from Krautrock, EBM, Techno, but also from the film scores of the 70s and 80s, and their concept goes well with HøRD’s creative vision.

While it’s impossible not to think about Joy Division, The Soft Moon or even A Place To Bury Strangers while listening to “Focus On Light”, HøRD’s mix of noisy synths, darkwave melodies and disarming melancholic reverbs manage to convince even the most skeptical listener. You can almost feel a cohesive cinematic flow from the first to the last track, like story that’s being told through beats and raw emotions, exposing the duality of the human heart. And this is not surprising considering HøRD has already contributed to the fictitious 80s teen drama Wild in Blue OST.

Tracks like “Teen Offer” and “Heart Part I” lure the listener into a world of tribulations through sensual and haunting vocals, sounding almost like a cry for help. But then, on the B side, you get to experience a different, almost violent aesthetic, through EBM and industrial influences on "RFLX". But we’ll just let the music speak for itself and below please find "Teen Offers" streaming.

For more of HøRD’s music make sure to check his Bandcamp or if you want to get to know more about the artist behind HøRD, his Tumblr page is the place to go.

-Marie Bungau
twitter.com/MarieBungau