When the mighty Beta Band called it a day, Steve Mason went on to record as King Biscuit Time and Black Affair, but it's only under his own name he's really found his feet.
First came 2010's Boys Outside, a crisp, spare album that foregrounded his hypnotic voice; then companion piece Ghosts Outside, a dub remix in collaboration with sound system legend Dennis Bovell.
Continuing his journey through that land where psychedelia, dub, folk and dance meet, the Scot now pens a third "letter home". This is a self-styled concept album, though it's a concept so broad it's almost indiscernible. The Last Of The Heroes is a dub instrumental laid over the sound of Formula One cars and a Spanish commentary of a duel between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost; Fight Them Back is a post-London riots state-of-the-nation address with an insanely catchy chorus. More affecting are the personal songs and those in which he touches on the depression which has long affected him. Whether you spot the concept or not, this is an impressive and relevant piece of work from one of British music's true mavericks.
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