STEVE MASON
Static Art Gallery

Back to Bido HQ for a potential gem of a night: STEVE MASON, the driving force behind the Beta Band and surely one the most distinguished and accomplished songwriters Static has ever opened its doors to. Entering the stage to an appreciative crowd, Mason kicked off the show with sparseness and understatement, breaking the momentary silence afforded to him with the bareness of his voice alone. In fact, for the entirety of the first two songs this really was a solo effort, no band in sight just Mason, the stage and the audience. The effect of this ploy soon became clear however, as by gradually integrating the band into proceedings, Mason was able to showcase the layering of his song craft and emphasise the attention to detail that has made his brand of Electro-soul distinctive. Throughout his song writing career, Mason has in actuality been at his most poignant and meaningful when this attention to detail has been at its most acute. Perhaps never one for sweeping epics or contagious riffs, the beauty of the Beta Band was also the nuance.

Early on he brought out the quite brilliant (and one time Trigger Happy TV mainstay) Dr Baker, a song still sounding fresh and innovative over a decade on:- beautiful. Much of the rest of the set though was comprised of his newest material taken from spring's Boys Outside, an album steeped in lyrical melancholy, stemming from the turbulence in Mason's own life over the last couple of years. The fact that pain and misery are never entirely detached from inspiration and creativity is evident here. Offerings such as Understand My Heart are not only close to the bone in terms of their significance to their maker's personal life but also represent what is without a doubt some Mason's finest solo work. Title track Boys Outside has the melodic piano and funky beats of Beta Band number but offsets this with hauntingly inward-looking lyrics, but it works to great affect. Whilst there is a decidedly dark theme to this album, it still remains the closest he has come to revisiting earlier work but is also something of a return to form after the Black Affair project.

However, whilst this may not be a huge departure in sound from the Beta Band, Mason's ability to pen meaningful and innovative pop music still remains. But at the same time there is an inescapable feeling that the formula hasn't evolved enough and subsequently the music has lost a little of the edge and forward-looking perspective it once carried. Therefore Mason's difficulty may lie in attracting new listeners to his music, without them first being initiated into the Beta Band back catalogue. For those that have been with him all the way though, Steve Mason back in Liverpool was a more than welcome sight. Despite bemoaning Static's lack of lights, the man himself actually reserved praise for the 'Do-It-Yourself' local music scene. Highlight of the night? Mason going to town on an unsuspecting cowbell.
Pete Robinson