Soused is a collaborative album by singer Scott Walker and American drone metal band Sunn O))). Announced in early 2014 by 4AD, the album was produced by Walker and Peter Walsh with the help of Mark Warman and released on October 21, 2014.[1] It is the last album Walker released during his lifetime, barring soundtrack work. 4AD released a music video for the song "Brando", directed by French filmmaker Gisèle Vienne.[2]
Soused | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 21, 2014 | |||
Recorded | Early 2014 | |||
Genre | Avant-garde, experimental rock, art rock, drone metal | |||
Length | 48:32 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | 4AD | |||
Producer | ||||
Scott Walker chronology | ||||
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Sunn O))) chronology | ||||
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Sunn O))) songwriters Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson had previously contacted Walker about contributing vocals to Monoliths & Dimensions in 2009, but Walker declined due to prior engagements.[3] While developing material for his follow up record to 2012's Bish Bosch, Walker reached out to the band. Walker's decision to incorporate drones came about while developing lyrics. As the singer-composer stated, "I could get those gaps, you see, between phrases. Which I usually fill with silence, but now I had the drones."[3]
Upon agreeing to collaborate, Walker sent O'Malley and Anderson a series of wordless demos of tracks he produced, alongside Peter Walsh, made entirely with synthesizers. With the synthesizers, Walker directly outlined the instrumental accompaniments that O'Malley and Anderson were to provide via guitar drones. To record Sunn O)))'s guitar drones, the band brought its entire stage equipment, a large collection of amplifiers, to Walker's London studio space.[3]
Walker initially wanted to name the album Ronronner, French for "purr", "like the noise a big cat would make"; but O'Malley, who lives in France, believed that French audiences would read it as "too cute". Walker then came up with Soused, with the intended meaning of being submerged in water.[4]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 83/100[5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
The A.V. Club | A[7] |
Clash | 8/10[8] |
FACT | [9] |
The Guardian | [10] |
The Observer | [11] |
Pitchfork | 7.4/10[12] |
Slant Magazine | [13] |
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Soused received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 from 29 critic scores.[5]
Side one
Side two
Side three
As on his 2012 LP Bish Bosch, there are orchestrations by musical director Mark Warman.