Scott Walker + Sunn O)))
Soused
4AD
3/10
Musical collaborations are a crapshoot; some come together effortlessly, the fruits of their union succeeding beyond expectations. Some, not so much. Aerosmith and Run–D.M.C.’s “Walk This Way”? Give the guy who thought of that a raise. Metallica and Lou Reed’s Lulu? Not the last release we’d want on our discography. Scott Walker and Sunn O)))’s Soused falls solidly into the latter category, and may have created a category all its own.
Decades into his career as the possessor of “that voice,” Walker has lent his distinctive lounge-singer baritone to various genres, most notably a mid ’60s run with pop crooners The Walker Brothers. Over the last fifteen years, and well into middle age, Walker veered course dramatically, releasing a handful of albums that can more aptly be described as experimental.
Thus we come to this latest idea of collaboration, which can actually be blamed on the Seattle-based drone-metal wonders Sunn O))). Simply put, to all but a select handful of the most adventurous music consumers Soused will be unlistenable. The combination of Walker’s voice and Sunn O)))’s distorted guitar-based sludge comes close to transcending critique, and has the effect of transporting the listener to a completely unfamiliar musical realm. This is a remarkable accomplishment, but one that does not result in repeated listens.
