You never know what to expect from Dan Bejar, whose albums as Destroyer range from balladry to art rock. Ken, the Canadian’s 12th set, is informed by New Order in their 80s pomp, though Bejar’s lyrics are cryptic and shot through with scorn. “The groom’s in the gutter and the bride just pissed herself,” he sings on the lofty opener, Sky’s Grey, which starts slowly then grows menacing, its wintry riff energised by Bejar’s sneery voice. Over the course of the album, however, his mannered delivery grates, turning Ken, with two notable exceptions (Tinseltown Swimming in Blood; Saw You at the Hospital), into a twisted strain of cabaret.
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