There's a twisted sense of humor on Scott Walker's latest album that was missing - or much harder to discern - on the 69-year-old musician's bleak and difficult 2006 masterpiece, The Drift. Bish Bosch isn't a laugh riot, though. It balances near silence with bone-chilling orchestral dissonance, often within the same song. It uses more guitars and conventional melodies than The Drift, but it's far from ordinary. In fact, its smattering of disturbing lyrics and eerie string arrangements make the theme to Psycho seem tame. But no matter how challenging this album gets, Walker's distinctive voice holds it all together.
Scott Walker: "Bish Bosch"
(4AD)