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So it’s come to pass yet again… Steve Mason has had another hissy fit and decided to call it a day. Dust off your black arm bands from the last band he quit and appreciate the music he has left us with. Some would argue that its better that he has left us now and not in seven years time after having kids and being the stereotypical indie-band-front man-gone solo ala Ashcroft, Brown, Malkmus et al. While there may be more than a little truth in that the fact is we’ll never know and upon hearing this record you will wish he’d have left the decision to us…
Last year’s stinging tirade against the Western world’s secret services, ‘C I Am 15’ opens proceedings with gusto, all clanging hypnotic rhythms and punchy as fuck synth stabs make this criminally underrated single a classic. ‘Izzum’ carries on in a very similar vein with it’s funky ass rhythm which eventually give way to a melodica riff that’s so infectious it could replace Bird Flu as the thing most likely to violently invade the UK, sample lyric, ‘I know how to treat my neighbour—Box of chocolates pepper flavour’. The prevailing theme for most of ‘Black Gold’ sonically is bumping beats, Steve’s chant style vocals and electronic pop. Those looking for ten versions of the excellent ‘When I Walk The Earth’ from his ‘No Style EP’ will certainly be disappointed but that’s not to say this isn’t an excellent album it just lacks the sufficient number of classic tracks to make it up there with his best work with the Betas. The main highlights include the afore mentioned duo and recent single ‘Kwangchow’. The latter’s shufflific groove and acoustic break harks back to his early masterworks with his previous band. ‘All Over You’ is another slice of unadulterated Beta pop but never quite manages to reach thoe lofty heights.
As said previously the main flaw with ‘Black Gold’ is it’s lack of out and out classics but there is plenty here to make you want to listen to it over and over and over again. It’s worth noting that had this been the first of many albums to come then it would be listened to with different ears instead of being an amazing indication of things to come it’s a pretty unsatisfying climax. The world should mourn his passing but the horrible truth of the matter is that he never gave the world chance to celebrate his career properly. This could have been the highlight of a multicoloured career instead of it’s epitaph but it’s still ‘beta’ than most.
