On paper, Scott Walker is the perfect cult icon. The singer and composer's recording career has all the requisite sharp pivots and dark shadows that make for excellent record collector lore. He made drastic stylistic changes, from boy band icon to brooding balladeer to avant-garde composer; he disappeared from the public view for a decade at a time; and Brian Eno namedrops him as an influence. But while Walker's story is intriguing, his music can be a challenging listen. The material of his I've heard is either saturated with his syrupy baritone croon, or sounds so uncompromisingly bleak it's like an old David Lynch film... More >>>