Bestial Mouths - INSHROUDSS

Describing Bestial Mouths' sound has always been an exercise in futility as the project blends so many different elements that they transcend standard genre ramifications and become something else entirely. While listening to the project fronted by Lynette Cerezo you'll find darkwave, goth, industrial, and tribal elements all around; I've even seen some comparisons between Cerezo and the ever legendary and lovely Siouxsie Sioux. Whatever the case may be and however you may want to label Bestial Mouths, there's no denying that the band makes phenomenal music. But there is more than just incredible beats backing Bestial Mouths releases; whether you're going into one of their outputs to be stupefied by the instrumentation or blown away by Cerezo's incredible vocal chants, there is a monumental amount of emotion that drips off of each of their releases. Cerezo has even stated in a most recent interview regarding "INSHROUDSS" that she found herself exposing her soul in the lyrics of the EP. 

What makes "INSHROUDSS" so interesting, then, is that Cerezo took full reign of the EP and wrote it all herself. Of course the EP would not have been possible without her other incredible bandmates Brant Showers of ∆AIMON and SOLVE, Alex Degroot of Zola Jesus, and Balazs Kepli, but the question still remains as to whether or not "INSHROUDSS" would hold up in comparison to Bestial Mouths' previous output. The question is easily answered as soon as the play button is hit for the first song on the album 'THE BLEED'. A forty-some second intro is given with dark ambient texture before rhythmic drumming, backing electronic synths, and Cerezo's chords blast open the gates of purity. It was clear then that "INSHROUDSS" was not weaker in any sense than any other Bestial Mouths output but equally matched the emotive ferocity and delight I received when first discovering the project. 



The ride continues in the echoing and dream-like essence of the title track 'INSHROUDSS'. I first heard this song when I had the chance to watch the music video. The audio-visual experience could be less defined as a music video and more or less as a performance art; I felt as if I should have paid for a theatrical act whilst watching it. 'UNSHIVERED' breaks the mold of the previous two songs and gets a faster paced, dirtier, and grittier than before. 'IN WOUNDS' furthers the experimental nature of the EP with a moody, dark ambient track with steady drumming, a deep backing drone, and Cerezo adding to this ritual with long notes. The final song on the album 'WITHIIN' presents itself as a stripped down version of the sounds we heard from both 'THE BLEED' and 'INSHROUDSS'. Similar song structure with a similar pace yet the beats were not as pounding and destructive as before; it is a concentrated avenue of electronic bliss. 

"INSHROUDSS" is a staggering EP of monumental proportions that marks a new legacy or Bestial Mouths. Not only does it mark Cerezo's first time as a solo writer, but it also is the first release under her and Zania's record label Rune & Ruin. If this is the quality that we will find with Bestial Mouth's independent output then I am all for it. The album is currently available in both White and Black 12" Vinyl as well as digital formats. Go grab yourself a copy. 
Nov 23 2019