Scott Walker’s The Drift will get under your skin

Scott Walker’s The Drift 会让你感到毛骨悚然。Walker 2006 年的这张专辑令人不安、怪异，是毁掉派对的绝佳方式。

In my mind, Spooky Season music comes in two distinct flavors. There are the fun, occasionally goofy songs like “The Monster Mash” and John Carpenter’s “Halloween Theme.” Then there is the genuinely terrifying: Throbbing Gristle, The Body, or Scott Walker’s The Drift.

在我看来，万圣节季的音乐有两种截然不同的风格。一种是像《The Monster Mash》和约翰·卡朋特（John Carpenter）的《万圣节主题曲》那样有趣且偶尔有些滑稽的歌曲。另一种则是真正令人恐惧的音乐：例如 Throbbing Gristle、The Body 或 Scott Walker 的《The Drift》。

This 2006 album from the singer-songwriter is truly upsetting. On it, Walker explores death, disease, and tragedy. But not just from some abstract perspective. There are visceral descriptions of the hanging of Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci. He sings about 9/11, his stillborn twin brother, and the Srebrenica genocide. Lyrically, it’s about as dark as an album gets.

这位创作歌手 2006 年的这张专辑确实令人心烦意乱。在专辑中，Walker 探讨了死亡、疾病和悲剧，而且不仅仅是从抽象的角度。其中有对贝尼托·墨索里尼及其情妇克拉拉·佩塔奇被绞死过程的生动描述。他唱到了 9/11 事件、他死产的双胞胎兄弟以及斯雷布雷尼察大屠杀。从歌词上看，这几乎是一张最黑暗的专辑。

But it’s the experimental backdrop that drives it all home. At times, the record sounds more like the score to an Ari Aster film than anything that could be called pop music under even the most generous definitions. Seasick guitars in the verses of “Jesse” give way to dissonant strings that drone oppressively over the chorus. You can feel the low-bitrate MP3 noise that opens “Clara” in your jaw, which also allegedly features the sound of his percussionist punching a pig carcass as part of the rhythm track.

但正是实验性的背景音乐让这一切变得深刻。有时，这张唱片听起来更像是阿里·艾斯特（Ari Aster）电影的配乐，而不是任何即使在最宽泛定义下也能被称为流行音乐的作品。《Jesse》主歌中令人晕船的吉他声，让位于副歌中压抑的刺耳弦乐。你甚至能从下颚感受到《Clara》开篇时那种低比特率 MP3 的噪音，据说这首歌的节奏轨道中还包含了打击乐手击打猪尸体的声音。

Songs stop on a dime, linger in uncomfortable silence, then erupt in bursts of mechanical noise. Animal bleating, foley work, and atonal orchestra sections grind against Walker’s warble. Nothing is ever quite in tune, and it can be challenging to get through the record in a single sitting if you’re not in a very particular mood. But sticking with it can be quite rewarding.

歌曲会突然停止，在令人不适的寂静中徘徊，然后爆发出一阵阵机械噪音。动物的叫声、拟音效果和无调性的管弦乐部分与 Walker 的颤音相互摩擦。没有任何东西是完全合拍的，如果你没有处于某种特定的心境，一次性听完这张唱片可能会很有挑战性。但坚持听下去会非常有收获。

Some songs and performances are so beautiful they send shivers down your spine or give you goosebumps. Scott Walker’s The Drift is the opposite of that. You will still have an involuntary physical reaction, but it’s more shudders than shivers. It will make your skin crawl.

有些歌曲和表演美得让人脊背发凉或起鸡皮疙瘩。Scott Walker 的《The Drift》则恰恰相反。你仍然会有不由自主的生理反应，但更多的是战栗而非寒颤。它会让你感到毛骨悚然。

Scott Walker’s The Drift is available on Bandcamp and most major streaming services, including YouTube Music, Apple Music, Qobuz, Deezer, and Spotify.

Scott Walker 的《The Drift》可在 Bandcamp 和大多数主流流媒体服务上获取，包括 YouTube Music、Apple Music、Qobuz、Deezer 和 Spotify。