THOMAS AZIER
LOVE, DISORDERLY
HYLAS RECORDS
★★★★
On his fourth album, ever-soserious Dutchman Azier applies his remarkable, Morten Harket croon – listen to If There’s A God’s early stages – to eight songs that, at times, display the eccentric, arty intensity of late Scott Walker. The title track’s dark squall of howling synths delivers us perilously to Hold On Tight’s chugging strings, Azier’s intonation appealingly European and cabaret-esque, while Entertainment offers early Depeche Mode’s sinister charms and Freed From Desire revives Suicide’s sinister garage primitivism.