Steve Mason – About the Light
The fourth solo album from The Beta Band's Steve Mason is an instant classic that merges different genres in a surprisingly cohesive manner
Coming shortly after the 20th anniversary of The Beta Band’s collection The Three E.P.s, About the Light is the fourth solo studio album from founding member Steve Mason. The album is fuelled with polyphonic pop anthems; like the title track to a film, the album opens with veritable earworm America is Your Boyfriend, its crashing symbols and big band sound reminiscent of The Flaming Lips – marching into your consciousness like a team of majorettes. Tracks such as Rocket and Don’t Know Where are more slow burning, bubbling along nicely with a distant synth-like guitar capturing the sounds of a city at night.
The album is an experimentation in sound, with a range of musical influences from jazz, pop and blues gently illuminating without being heavy-handed or didactic. Its lyrics are simple and repetitive, giving it all the qualities of a sermon – with Mason as the sardonic preacher man. About the Light is an instant classic that merges different genres in a suprisingly cohesive manner. The only downside to the album is that it is so easy to listen to, we are carried almost unaware to The End, the final track in a collection of well-thought-out and well-curated tunes.
Listen to: America is Your Boyfriend, Rocket, Stars Around My Heart