Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Scott Walker & Sunn O))) – Soused

October 20, 2014 • 4AD Records

You know I can't resist Sunn O))) collaborations. I can resist them even less the more bizarre the other artist is—and of course it's harder to get more weird than Scott Walker, he of The Drift, one of the most messed-up albums I've ever heard. But sometimes that's not always a good thing and, even though my hopes have been high for these collaborations (especially since I liked Terrestrials considerably), I can't get behind Soused at all.

As for the music: to be honest, it's basically what I expected. Sunn O))) drones away on their guitars o' doom, while Walker belts out some impressive singing over top (yeah, he's 71, and sounds way better than most people half his age). Meanwhile, creepy noises and synths and samples bubble and stomp around. "Bull" and "Fetish" shake things up with a bit of rhythmic almost-rock and there are a few industrial-style loops here and there, but for the most part they stick to the formula closely.

And that's about all that happens for forty-eight minutes. I'm not really sure what to make of it. I feel like I usually get what is going on with Sunn O))), and Walker's stuff I've heard before isn't particularly obtuse, but this feels like there's really something missing. I can tell they have good intentions but there just isn't enough happening to justify five whole tracks of this. Come on, Sunn O))), I know you're capable of doing better.

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