Steve Mason

The old three chord trick. Nothing wrong with it. There is a beauty in simplicity. Steve Mason's back catalogue is packed with hauntingly lovely melodies and every one has a freshness.

And to be fair there are often more than three chords but the changes are so effortless they are virtually unnoticed.

He carries a certain anti-establishment anger but his songs are not full of political punditry. He responds to perceived injustice with love and compassion; a wounded yet never giving up approach to relationships. OK, so his is a wouldn't-it-be-good-if-we-were-nicer rant but there isn't much wrong with that.

At The Fleece last night he brought a tight band with wizened experience on bass and lead especially. Extended instrumentals were delightfully trippy even for those of us only drinking water. In these times Mason can end up dancing like Ian Brown a bit, although here the comparison ends as Mason can hold a tune.

Most of the material comes from 2010's Boys Outside and new album Monkey Minds in the Devils Time. It is very strong song-writing and delightfully performed with good audience engagement.

Try and experience him.