Closed Mouth – Last & Unreleased (Album – Icy Cold Records)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave.
Format: Digital, 2CD.
Background/Info: French musician Yannick Rault remains very prolific. He released an impressive number of productions as Closed Mouth in the past few years. He now strikes back again with a new opus plus an extra album featuring previously unreleased material.
The set appeared on Icy Cold Records, the French label that also released the “Unreleased” companion collection in the same year.
Content: I can’t say there’s a huge difference between both albums. This project remains driven by good-old 80s Dark-Wave music. The songs remind me of an imaginary meeting between The Cure and The Danse Society with some extra Joy Division elements on top. The title song of “Last” is somewhat different for its Cinematic approach while it also is the longest cut from the album, holding you in its grip for more than 10 minutes.
+ + + : I’m always a bit skeptical with prolific artists but Closed Mouth always tries to put a different accent in each new work. The guitar playing is predominant, injecting the dark 80s spirit into the songs which is accentuated by the low bass lines. But there also is a great balance with the electronic arrangements. One of the most Electro-driven songs “No Reason” even reminds me of Absolute Body Control with Joy Division on top.
– – – : You have to like this band and/or being a Dark-Wave lover to start this listening featuring 28 songs. It’s quite understandable all the tracks aren’t convincing but globally speaking ‘mission accomplished’ for Closed Mouth.
Conclusion: I haven’t heard all the albums of this project so far as I can remember, but I think this album is the best one. Great Dark-Wave songs so let’s hope this is not the ‘last’ album.
Best songs: “Lonely Life”, “Give Me Your Tongue” + “No Reason”, “No Movement”, “Don’t Leave You Alone”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/closedmouth19
Label: www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords
About Closed Mouth
Closed Mouth is the solo project of French musician Yannick Rault, who describes the music as influenced by coldwave, dark wave and post-punk. Rault plays guitar, bass and electronics and handles the vocals himself.
The project has been running since the mid-2010s and is one of the most prolific in its field: Discogs lists more than a hundred Closed Mouth releases, the large majority of them self-released digital albums and EPs. The earliest listed entry is “Insomnia #1” from 2014, followed by a long run of titles including “Radio” and “Coffee And Cigarettes #3” in 2016 and “Tesla”, “Another Strange Day”, “This Day” and the “Bluebirds” series in 2017.
Icy Cold Records issued the pairing of “Last” and the “Unreleased” collection in 2022, the first Closed Mouth material to appear on a label rather than under Rault’s own name. The label returned to the project with the CD album “Forgotten” in 2024, and the Spanish label Oráculo Records released the limited 12″ EP “You Dont need a God” in 2025.
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