Black Affair

‘Pleasure, Pressure, Point’

(V2)

The fact that Steve Mason chose to call his new project Black Affair gives some insight into the ambivalent mood this LP presents. Musically the songs settle down into a kind of pastiche 1980s groove, all echoey synths and Playmobil drumbeats, but the erstwhile Beta Bander is still best framed in plaintive, melodic mode as on ‘Will She Come’, which in another arrangement could be an Elbow B-side. In fact, Mason’s delivery shares much with the gritted-teeth understated passion of Guy Garvey, bringing dark obsession and nervous dreamery to matters. Elsewhere, as on ‘Sweet’, you half expect the Ladytron girls to pop up with some deadpan backing; that it’s kept sparse makes it compelling as Mason goes backward to get to the future.

Rev Shoo