People of a certain age are most likely to know Steve Mason from his Beta Band inspired Hollywood moment in the 2000 movie High Fidelity adapted from the 1995 Nick Hornby novel of the same name. In a scene typical of pre-millennial record store culture of the day shop owner Rob Gordon, played by John Cusack, challenges two music snob colleagues to witness him sell five copies of Steve Mason’s Beta Band The Three E.P.’s album simply by playing one minute of the song Dry The Rain. The rest, as they say, is history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHPLjyvPkBU
Already a darling of Britain’s underground indie music scene, the Scottish born Mason went on to release three albums as Beta Band before calling it quits after just five years in 2004. In the ensuing years Mason released music under monikers King Biscuit Time, EDM music duo Black Affair and most recently as part of smart pop Alien Stadium duo with Felt/Primal Scream alumnus Martin Duffy.
Mason has put out four full lengths in the decade since he first began to credit himself as the primary author of his own albums starting with Boys Outside from 2010. Comprised of ten concise compact tracks clocking in at a brisk 39 minutes Mason’s latest pocket symphony About The Light should come with its own warning label BUYER BEWARE! ALL KILLER NO FILLER!
About The Light’s catchy multi-tiered layers of meticulously structured melodically sophisticated power pop helps propel an all too neglected 50 year old genre of music Beatle Paul McCartney helped conjure in the early 70s and since championed by the likes of Ray Davies and the Kinks, XTC, Joe Jackson, Jason Falkner, Brendan Benson, Matthew Sweet and a host of others.
Whether channelling his old Beta Band self via the title track, Andy Partridge vox by way of XTC (No Clue) or even a glimmer of Pink Floyd throughout Fox On The Rooftop (which at times bears a striking similarity to Breathe from Dark Side Of The Moon with its Gilmouresque breathy vocals, Richard Wright infused 70s synth lines, horn solo and Neil Young inspired Cowgirl In The Sand coda) Mason and Co’s live-off-the-floor full-on band approach to About The Light strikes gold throughout. One of the strongest releases of the year!
Rating 9/10
Star Rating 4.5/5
2019 Song Of The Day Club 7/52