Bestial Mouths – “Hissing Veil” – [Dais]

Before vampires were franchised by Hollywood, they stuck to dank, cavernous forbidden places and they played rock like this with a dark fervor. Creepy synths, restless drums and a screamy dreamy voice cloaked in reverb. Lynette Cerezo is the vocalist screaming is important both as pivotal primal release, but also as a topic in her lyrics. Those lyrics also hover like a planchette, gliding over aspects of blindness, torment, and of course teeth. The sounds swirl here, creating that infinite Lost Angeles sense of the Decline of Western Civilization. And while the banshee beckoning of Cerezo may be the initial lure for listeners, the synth work of Christopher Myrick, really summon the sonic spectres and spectators. Very nice work, as haunting as it is haunted.

-Thurston Hunger