TEARIST is an American electronic/ industrial duo from
Los Angeles consisting of
Yasmine Kittles (vocals / percussion) and William Stangeland Menchaca (synthesizers / programming). Their self-titled debut album sold out within months and their live follow-up record,
Living: 2009-Present, received high acclaim due to the riskiness and unconventionality of a live album being released as a debut full length.
LA Record described the album as "a unified artifact that defies the span of time in which it was recorded" and calls the album "a gem that transcends the traditional live album and verges on being an art-object in and of itself."
Rolling Stone described TEARIST as being "about pushing people out of their comfort zone to the point where they question their own existence." They have been described as a "gothy electro-noise duo" by the
Los Angeles Times music blog; and in a cover story on the band, the
LA Weekly wrote, "Tearist could very well be the most crucial musical project to come out of Los Angeles in recent years."