Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
For me, listening to music should be a pleasurable experience, something to savour and enjoy. A leisurely pursuit. Inspiring even. That's not to say it should be lacking in spark, or vigour, or originality either, but a challenge? No thanks. If I want a challenge I'll cycle down the A52 blindfolded. Or attempt to climb a mountain. Build a house even.
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wrong.
I really wanted to like this.
Genuinely.
But after listening to it continuously for the best part of a fortnight my ears just gave up. I think they were probably crying out for something, anything resembling a tune.
Odd
since I think parts of it are more tuneful than the last two albums. I've found myself unexpectedly humming melodies from it in my head past few days. Today it was from Zercon, the repeated refrain of roman numerals. I think Corps De Blah has quite a strong melody at the centre of it. Mind You Don't Bump Your Head and Phrasing have also to a lesser extent. But then if you're expecting hooks in such a work, you're always going to be disappointed.
I don't think it's as good as the last two albums. That said, I probably need to hear it another 10 times before I can properly assess it. It is certainly messy and the way the music soundtracks the lyrics is becoming a little too literal for my liking. Also I'd rather his voice stayed more neutral as there's a theatricality to this record which is OTT. But then that's just a personal preference.
I'm glad you crossed out the word 'pretentious' (though you're still kind of having your cake and eating it). 'Pretentious' is such an over-used and abused word. Something mainstream has just as much chance of being 'pretentious' as something that is more 'out there'. Now, whether you think SW believes his works to be greater and more important and accomplished than they are, one can only go by one's gut. Personally, I think he's quite genuine when he comes out with this rather 'different' kind of music. But then I could be wrong.
The biggest problem for me is I still associate
Scott Walker with his classic torch ballads of the late 1960s/early 1970s, and while I applaud any artist that dares to move on and try something different I'm really struggling to get my head around 'Bish Bosch'.
Well work your way there slowly then
Nite Flights, Climate Of Hunter, Tilt, The Drift, other bits and bobs.
Sometimes I'm happy not to get my round something. Sometimes fighting it is the worst thing.
I'm not saying it's mandatory that you like Bish Bosch. As I wrote above, I have reservations about it. Just some suggestions.
Would you honestly listen to repeat plays of this record? Or even get from start to finish in one sitting?
Yes. And I have done about 10 times since Monday. And enjoyed it.
That was supposed to be in response to the review, not your post.
Corrections:
SDSS1416+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)*
"Pain is not alone"
*it's all over the sleeve notes. Bad ID3 tagging and Spotify are not helping this mistake.
I didn't have the CD
Just one of those crummy stream/downloads that labels & PRs tend to send out these days.
I'm very proud of you, Dom.
No review score. Just your opinion, a genuine apathy verging on active dislike, of an incredibly deep but highly divisive piece of work. Some people would have fallen into the trap of utter praise or utter disgust, with a score to reflect those feelings, but you decided against it.
Journalists are slowly realizing that you can't put a hard number to art. It's only when you follow somebody's reviews and figure out that you share their tastes that you can actually derive some value from their well-articulated opinion.
I like the record quite a bit and I am excited to continue exploring the soundscapes, references, and so forth. It stands to reason that if you were to give this (IMO) masterpiece a 3/10 or something as the official DiS score, my interest and stock in this site would drop a bit.
You wrote in an even-handed fashion while preserving your own journalistic integrity. Bravo!
I'm still waiting for this to drop into the mailbox
but I can honestly say I put the Drift on all the time and I enjoy it. It's a different musical experience for sure and it conjures up emotions that no other album has been able to. I don't think it's totally inaccesible either. I don't see how someone can love some of the Liars stuff, Trout Mask Replica or maybe even the new Ariel Pink and find Walker stuff so unlistenable. It's cut from the same cloth.
What the fock is 'the concept of discernible tune'?
I don't get it. The record is full of melody.
Moron
Why is this guy writing for DIS?
He listened for a fortnight and was waiting for something resembling 'a tune'. Barking up the wrong tree mate.
He still associates Scott Walker with his stuff from the 60's. Then why is he reviewing this album?
Thing about 'challenging' music is that it becomes less challenging the more you read it. It's like reading books. Hearing the opinions of someone with such a limited musical insight in a feature review really puts me off reading this website.
Something is happening here & you don't know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?
Scurry off back to your indie comfort zone, Mr. Gourlay.
could DiS not find someone with a frame of reference for this sort of thing to review this?
This is a pretty pathetic critique; the review concedes in the first paragraph that Mr. Gourlay was in no way willing to actually engage with this record. I would've been damn embarrassed to run something this facile. The overall tone reminds me of a cop in a Monty Python sketch stumbling into the frame with a "WOTS ALL THIS THEN?"