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The Best Record You’ve Never Heard: HMLTD races from Central Asian history to outer space for their avant-garde pick
HMLTD frontman Henry Spychalski named Scott Walker’s *Bish Bosch* as his choice for an overlooked record, praising its radical approach and lasting influence on his own work. He describes it as an ambitious, timeless album whose experimental scope stands apart from modern pop.
Spychalski singles out its use of silence and the song “SDSS1416+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)”. The song follows Zercon, a historical figure in Attila the Hun’s court, as he travels through history and physical space, including a spell as a flagpole sitter in 1920s America, in an attempt to escape cruelty.
In short
- Henry Spychalski chose Scott Walker’s *Bish Bosch*.
- He admires its unusual use of silence.
- One song sends a historical character across time and space.
Explained simply
HMLTD are a British art-rock band, and Henry Spychalski is their singer. Scott Walker was an American-born singer and songwriter who became known for taking unusual risks in his solo music.
Bish Bosch, released in 2012, was Walker’s final studio album. Its long, unconventional songs combine sparse sounds, pauses and references to history and imagined worlds; “SDSS1416+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)” centres on Zercon, a jester at the court of the fifth-century ruler Attila the Hun.
The album matters as an example of a well-known musician making music outside familiar pop forms. Spychalski has said its approach, including its use of silence, has influenced his own work.
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