Soused
by Scott Walker
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Oct 21, 2014
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 35 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 5 out of 35
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  1. Muddsjr
    Oct 26, 2014
    7
    what Scott has conjured here is a great improvement on his previous Bisch Bosch, which was, for me, virtually unlistenable and greatly forgettable an experience. I believe experimental music is one thing I take thrills out of. I personally like music best when it's complicated and different. Bisch Bosch however was a step too far for me.
    Soused is another greatly experimental work from    what Scott has conjured here is a great improvement on his previous Bisch Bosch, which was, for me, virtually unlistenable and greatly forgettable an experience. I believe experimental music is one thing I take thrills out of. I personally like music best when it's complicated and different. Bisch Bosch however was a step too far for me.
    Soused is another greatly experimental work from Scott, yet its alot more accessible at the same time, and possibly his most accessible since Climate of Hunter or Tilt. It's not ideally his best album either, you get the main idea of the album after track two, but it's not so bad either. It's even great at times.    … Expand
  2. allisonsdc
    Oct 24, 2014
    0
    Given the metascore of 84 and the high user score, I had high hopes for this album... but I barely made it through one listen. It's quite possibly the worst album I've ever heard.
  3. Lambo442
    Nov 13, 2014
    8
    This album makes me scowl at my screen, It's all the anger inside me bubble up to the surface and I can't work out if indulging it is a good thing or a bad thing. I could end up like Patrick Bateman if I carry on listening. It's an amazing album, so unique and moody, you won't have heard much like it. I never knew Scott Walker was pushing the boat out like this these days.
  4. TalentlessHack
    Dec 31, 2015
    6
    I really tried to love this record after having listened to Walker's past two projects, The Drift and Bisch Bosch, both of which I enjoyed quite a lot. But this one just didn't do it for me.

    While I will commend Walker and Sunn o))) for creating some interesting soundscapes on this record, with my personal favorite track being "Brando". A track with very heavy and dark drones with whips    I really tried to love this record after having listened to Walker's past two projects, The Drift and Bisch Bosch, both of which I enjoyed quite a lot. But this one just didn't do it for me.

    While I will commend Walker and Sunn o))) for creating some interesting soundscapes on this record, with my personal favorite track being "Brando". A track with very heavy and dark drones with whips lashing in the background. But I couldn't help the feeling that it all felt bloated.

    "Herod 2014" goes pretty much nowhere. "Brando", the track I love, drags on for a bit too long and repeats itself too often. (The second half literally copy pastes the first half with barely anything new added into the mix). It gave me the impression that everything that Walker and Sunn o))) tried to achieve on this record could've been done within 30-35 minutes, rather than 48 minutes.

    This album felt to me like a stripped down Bisch Bosch. Less ambitious. Less wacky. Less dynamics. Less of pretty much everything.

    Soused was a disappointing listen, yet there is something...something still intriguing enough for me to give this album a listen once every month.

    (Brando still gets plenty of listens from me.)

    Fav Tracks: Brando, Lullaby
    Least Fav Track: Herod 2014    … Expand
  5. SouS
    Aug 5, 2019
    0
    i thought this song would be good looking at my name then i listened to it and quirky doesn't mean good. How does this have such a high score on here???

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best Album of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 17, 2014
    70
    Dense and demanding, Soused will not be topping the album charts. But it is the kind of obliteratingly intense, glamorously weird avant-metal epic that Lou Reed and Metallica never made. [Nov 2014, p.94]
  2. The Wire
    Dec 2, 2014
    70
    The result lack some of the swarming, piercing detail and vertiginous shifts that give so much drama to late Scott. At the same time, it mostly does away with that haunts latter-day songs. [Oct 2014, p.51]
  3. Mojo
    Nov 6, 2014
    80
    A powerful mix of dramatic, slow-moving sound and Walker melodies and narratives. [Nov 2014, p.99]
See all critic reviews »