When HIM played their last-ever show on the last day of 2017, it didn’t feel like one of those temporary farewells. It wasn’t an endlessly recurring KISS-style adieu; it was more like a funeral, albeit one of hearts. The first music from frontman Ville Valo’s solo debut (dubbed VV) emerged at the start of 2020 – just before the world closed down, sending Ville and his deliciously dark sounds once more into lockdown. Neon Noir is finally upon us, and from the perspective of anyone who has enjoyed HIM’s music, it’s been worth every day of that long wait. It travels that same divinely flowered bridge spanning heavy and cosy; that oh-so-individual thing that somehow made darkness look sexy rather than scary. It’s everywhere – from Run Away From The Sun’s tuneful beauty, to the weigh...