Now based in Brighton, and away from the isolation of living in the woods of Fife for long periods, the former Beta Band founder appears to have found a peace of sorts, albeit one wrapped up in a call to arms, largely to himself, as he details his fight against depression and inner-turmoil that has hindered his personal life for many years.

Never one to mince his words, Mason has often railed against what he sees as an overbearing, nay crushing existence, fostered by big business and big government. His last album was a loose concept, as alluded to in the title Monkey Mind in the Devil’s Time, a reference to an easily distracted populace in the face of the tightening grip of the ‘establishment’. But, there is also the everyman about Mason; a normal, slightly grumpy yet dryly humorous, cynical and opinionated bloke that we all know and love. And it’s this character, allied with some sublime songwriting, and an often under-appreciated voice, that has endeared him, against the odds.

Where The Humans Meet is an altogether less pessimistic album than Monkey Mind in the Devil’s Time. But, while there are still references dotted here and there to what he sees as ‘anti-democracy’, these sentiments have been somewhat leavened by his new found re-acquaintance with the human race, i.e. living in Brighton and enjoying what life has to offer by the seaside. He’s still angry and pessimistic in many ways, but at the same time he’s rather enjoying life more than he has done for quite some time.

Produced by Elbow’s Craig Potter, and made with a band (rather than his usual modus operandi of rehearsing and recording largely solo), Mason’s very distinctive songwriting is embellished by a general sheen of warming colours and textures, helped by the fact he has roped in long-time cohort Steve Duffield on bass and others in the studio. The ‘band’ has helped him to make what is perhaps his finest post-Beta Band album to date, a work that doesn’t have an overriding narrative, but is rather a collection of songs that feed into each other in making Where The Humans Meet a fluid album, and one that is very personal at that. Everything he writes about is from his own experience. Moreover, mixed in with the more downbeat numbers such as the sombre break-up song Ran Away and Through My Window – a song which Mason says is untouched from the original demo recording he made – there is an overt nod to the Screamadelica sound of the early 90s in many places, where indie rock cosied up to dance in creating a mildly melancholic meets euphoric sound.

Water Bored (a word play on the torture method) is typical in this respect; a deceptively jaunty beat, post-baggy big piano chords and balearic vibes, accompanied by lyrics about fighting his inner doubts and day-to-day oppression. “‘Cause you can make it/ Don’t think this pain is forever/ Just break this grip of the terror.” Similarly, Alive! rides along an upbeat summery groove accompanied by a melodica motif, as Mason sings about working it all out, talking to himself in the process: “You know we sleep walk through it, just like there’s nothing to it/ And they will sing to you baby, as they tax you daily.” And Another Day also grooves along on unfussy bass, and shakers, before evolving into an uplifting chorus, with more horns. Again, Mason talking to himself, trying to straighten things out: “I told you about the letter that I buried inside/ Like a bad dream it won’t come back.” Album closer Words In My Head neatly conjoins that aforementioned mild melancholia with euphoric trance-like beats, a track that really rips in the live arena for a suitably arms-aloft climax.

Elsewhere, Mason mixes it up with the superb Alright, which is underpinned by a heavily distorted rhythm guitar, a slightly dragging beat, harmonic voices, synth string stabs, and horns; the song building towards a wall of sound, what Mason calls ‘classical shoegaze’, the classical bits courtesy of Festival No.6’s composer-in-residence Joe Duddell. And, the gently pastoral beats of To A Door, co-written with Iain Archer, floats along a simple piano motif, Mason’s heavenly vocals helped along by the singing of Kristina Train.

Mason has always kept it simple, in songwriting terms, and here again there is no excess fat. His voice is in fine fettle, and the songs invariably melodic and beautifully crafted. And with his, albeit with caveats, new found love affair with both himself and the human race, the resulting album is perhaps his masterpiece. As he sings on the other Iain Archer co-penned song Planet Sizes: “But I find what is left to hide, the love we had inside, just another sign, the universe is mine.”
Jeff Hemmings

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