Kiefer Sutherland made his country-music debut, and it’s actually kind of decent
In case you’re suspicious about how serious Kiefer Sutherland is about his new foray into country music, the debut music video from his upcoming debut album, Down In A Hole, should ease any of your concerns. “Not Enough Whiskey” is a real deal country song. You can tell because the 49-year-old Canadian actor-turned-musician is wearing a cowboy hat. Plus, he spends the video’s four-minute running time wandering around a dusty desert-area motel and bar while acting forlorn and downing tumblers of bourbon for the cameras. That’s commitment to the form:
“If I hear about an actor doing a music project, my eyes are the first to roll,” Sutherland tells Rolling Stone in an interview. “It’s been done before, and, on some levels, not very well. A lot of actors make records but won’t tour to support them or make videos, and it ends up not being serious. I felt strongly that this was something I wanted to do.”
While Sutherland isn’t a natural vocal talent, his singing here is serviceable. The slow and contemplative elegy—which he and writing partner Jude Cole tailored to his vocal abilities—doesn’t require crooning so much as a close-to-the-mic growl at which he seems quite adept. The video, self-financed and filmed in just a few long takes, highlights the actor’s skill, honed over multiple seasons of 24, to subtly smolder beneath a disquieted countenance. On the whole, it’s an atmospheric video for a decent classic sad country song. Be forewarned, though, the first three lines of the song (“Pull the shades/Lock the door/Drag your feet across the floor”) are also the first three things Sutherland does the video. You just have to soldier though that part.
There’s no release date yet for Down In A Hole, but it should be out sometime this summer. Sutherland and his band will begin a U.S. tour on April 14.