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.
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
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