Soused (album)

Soused is a collaborative album between singer Scott Walker and experimental 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 21 October 2014.[1] 4AD released a music video for the song "Brando", directed by French filmmaker Gisèle Vienne.[2]

Soused
Studio album by
Scott Walker + Sunn O)))
Released21 October 2014 (21 October 2014)
RecordedEarly 2014
GenreAvant-garde, experimental rock, art rock, drone metal
Length48:32
LanguageEnglish
Label4AD
Producer
Scott Walker chronology
Bish Bosch
(2012)		 Soused
(2014)		 The Childhood of a Leader (Original Soundtrack)
(2016)
Sunn O))) chronology
Terrestrials
(2014)		 Soused
(2014)		 Kannon
(2015)

Production and recording
Sunn O))) performing live. "I’m always looking for an elemental, primal noise in my music," said Walker. "I figured, if I’m going to do the drone thing, they’re the kings of the drone, to me. I might as well get them.”[3]

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 with wordless demos of the tracks produced by Walker and Peter Walsh made entirely with synthesizers, in effect directly outlining 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 said 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]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubA[7]
Clash8/10[8]
FACT[9]
The Guardian[10]
The Observer[11]
Pitchfork7.4/10[12]
Slant Magazine[13]

Soused was met with positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. This release received a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[5]

Track listing

CD and digital editions
  1. "Brando"[14] – 8:42
  2. "Herod 2014" – 11:59
  3. "Bull" – 9:21
  4. "Fetish"[14] – 9:08
  5. "Lullaby" – 9:22

Vinyl LP edition

Side one

  1. "Brando"[14] – 8:42
  2. "Bull" – 9:21

Side two

  1. "Herod 2014" – 11:59

Side three

  1. "Fetish"[14] – 9:08
  2. "Lullaby" – 9:22

Personnel
  • Greg Anderson – guitars, percussion guitar on "Bull", lead guitar on "Lullaby"
  • Tos Nieuwenhuizen – lead guitar (except for "Bull"); moog on "Brando", "Bull", and "Lullaby"; riff guitar on "Fetish"
  • Stephen O'Malley – guitars, bass guitar on "Brando" and "Fetish", feedback guitar on "Bull" and "Fetish", lead guitar on "Bull" and "Herod 2014", percussion guitar on "Bull", re-amped hi synth on "Lullaby", sleeve design, type
  • Scott Walker – vocals, production, composer, drum programming on "Lullaby", mixing

Additional personnel
  • Dot Allison – backing vocals on "Bull"
  • Frank Arkwright – mastering
  • Guy Barker – trumpet (except "Herod 2014")
  • G'ast Bouschet – cover photo, photography
  • Andy Findon – saxophone on "Herod 2014"
  • Peter Gamble – bull whips on "Brando"
  • Phil Laslett – photography
  • Liam Nolan – assistant
  • Simon Saywood – analog technical support
  • Ian Thomas – drums (except "Herod 2014")
  • Peter Walsh – co-production, recording, mixing, electronic sound treatment, audio manipulation keyboards fx (except "Lullaby"), drum programming (except "Fetish"), mastering
  • Sam Walsh – backing vocals on "Bull"
  • Mark Warman – electronic sound treatment, audio manipulation, keyboards, drum programming on "Brando" and "Herod 2014", shaker on "Fetish", musical direction, orchestration[15]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[16]

References
  1. Torres, Eric (August 21, 2014). "Scott Walker and Sunn O))) Release Soused Album Art and Trailer, Push Back Release Date". Pitchfork Media. Bridda, Edoardo (August 21, 2014). "Scott Walker, Sunn O))). Soused album details" (in Italian). sentireascoltare.com.
  2. "Scott Walker + Sunn O))". YouTube. 4AD. October 23, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. Ratliff, Ben (October 9, 2014). "Viscerally Piercing the Semantic Mist". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  4. Doran, John. "Enter The Furnace: Scott Walker Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  5. "Soused – Scott Walker". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. Jurek, Thom. "Sunn 0))) / Scott Walker – Soused". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  7. Warwick, Kevin (October 21, 2014). "Scott Walker and Sunn O)))'s Soused Is as Magnificent as It Is Menacing". The A.V. Club.
  8. Wilson, Anna. "Scott Walker + Sunn O))) – Soused". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  9. Kalev, Maya. "SCOTT WALKER AND SUNN O))) SOUSED". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  10. Dennis, Jon. "Scott Walker + Sunn O))): Soused review – menacing but surprisingly melodic". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  11. Mongredien, Phil. "Scott Walker + Sunn O))): Soused Review – Rich in Imagination and Surprisingly Accessible". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  12. Currin, Grayson (October 22, 2014). "Sunn O))) / Scott Walker: Soused". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  13. Cataldo, Jessie. "Scott Walker + Sunn O))) – Soused". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  14. The physical packaging of the vinyl and the digital listings on various streaming services use the track names "Brando" and "Fetish", but the lyrics in the liner notes include alternative titles "Brando (Dwellers on the Bluff)" and "Fetish (Flip'n'Zip)".
  15. Michaels, Sean (2014-07-14). "Scott Walker and Sunn O))) reveal details of collaboration album, Soused". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-09-12. As on his 2012 LP Bish Bosch, there are orchestrations by musical director Mark Warman.
  16. "Soused Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
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