Monkey Minds In the Devil's Time
Some might have wondered where Steve Mason, once of Beta Band, was headed after 2011\'s *Ghosts Outside*, his arresting dub interpretation of his 2010 release *Boys Outside*. While *Ghosts Outside* was a successful experiment (creatively, anyway), Mason has returned to making unique, mood-altering sound mosaics, and *Monkey Minds in the Devil\'s Time* is remarkably moving. It vibrates quietly and warmly with the passion of a protest album, examining police brutality, the British government, and our own daily personal interactions and responsibilities. There are sly funk and hip-hop rhythms, sparkling pop tunes that transcend the genre, dashes of world spice, and that haunting, vulnerable voice that shaped Beta Band\'s ethereal feel. The production is spare, the pianos lovely but somber, and snaking hi-hats and languid handclaps keep the pulse at a measured pace, though a sense of coiled emotion lurks within. The searching, beautiful spirit of \"Lie Awake,\" the aching interrogation of \"A Lot of Love,\" the soaring uplift of \"Lonely,\" and the percolating, piano-driven introspection \"Oh My Lord\" are but a few high points in this sprawling, gorgeous work.
Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time is an album shaped by the political climate in which it was written, a period in which Mason bemoaned the sterile nature of popular culture's attitude to politics. This attitude is made abundantly clear in the music's confrontational nature.
The former Beta Band frontman's new solo album revives some of his former outfit's playful experimentation on songs that veer from deeply intimate to unabashedly political.
Steve Mason's voice is a burr. A lovely warm burr. The kind of voice that could read a Dan Brown novel aloud and make it sound poignant and well written. A burrrrrrr.
Steve Mason is a man who spends much time thinking about the world around him and the effect it has on himself and society at large.
In both breadth and depth, Steve Mason’s new opus is a lot to assay. A far-reaching concept album with an ardent heart, it’s driven thematically by fiery dissent and musically by restless exploration. Its 20-track girth helps facilitate this diversity, as Mason interlinks a core set of songs with an array of wing-spreading vignettes: from slivers of moody dub to pointed speech samples; collages of palette-cleansing noise to a piquant guest spot from London MC Mystro, dissecting the London riots to a sturdy backbeat.
Given the perilous condition of the Western world, it's surprising so few modern-era musicians reflect this in their craft.
Steve Mason's second solo album is a striking mix of the pretty and the political, says <strong>Molloy Woodcraft</strong>
Dub, gospel, country and rap come together in a jagged collage of colliding sounds that is invigorating and thrillingly distinct, writes <strong>Maddy Costa</strong>