If ever a modern day musician embodied that bit about being burdened by an albatross in Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner it was Steve Mason. His former outfit, The Beta Band, kicked off their spluttering career on the cusp of the new millennium with a ditty called ‘Dry The Rain’. Crash landing in post-post-Britpop’s guitar band wilderness and sounding like a lo-fi, on form Primal Scream meant that The Beta Band were hailed as indie rock’ s messiahs. Commercial success never matched critical salivation and the band went on to achieve cult status. Since their demise, Steve Mason has reverted to his King Biscuit Time alias and attempted to corner the perhaps rather niche Hot-Chip-fan-partial-to-a-bit-of-bondage demographic with his Black Affair project. These were false dawns as Mason retreated from the spot light in order to cope with his deliberating personal issues. Those that did respond from a largely unflustered music press compared Mason’s new excursions unfavourably with perceived past glories. Would he ever top that first song which turned crate digging heads in the film version of High Fidelity?

It says a great deal about Mason’s repaired psyche and renewed belief in his art that his debut album for Domino is credited to himself and not to an oblique pseudonym. Rightfully proud of his Richard X produced offering, Boys Outside, Mason finally sounds at ease with himself, his future and history. Indeed, the throng of devotees that have crowded Brighton’s Audio are a testament to his cult legacy. More importantly, they whoop with abandon for the new material.

Boys Outside’s seamless fusion of dubbed out electronic rhythms, delay washed guitars and yearning folk-noir was always going to be a tricky stage proposition especially as it was studio conceived. Mason is ably backed live though and dispenses gems like ‘Lost and Found’, ‘All Come Down’, ‘Am I Just A Man’ and the title track with aplomb. Solo acoustic renditions of ‘Dr Baker’ and ‘Simple’ are the only concessions to The Beta Band. Bare boned they sound lovely but don’t detract from the reason Mason wants us to be here – to celebrate his new music. He even throws in a few King Biscuit Time numbers, the side project he started during the height of Beta Mania, and they sit perfectly next to the album material: the politicised dancehall skronk of ‘C I AM 15′ whips the audience into a giddy frenzy whilst Mason encores with ‘I Walk The Earth’, the infectious opener to King Biscuit Time’s No Style EP.

All of these excursions away from Boys Outside serve to reiterate just how consistent Mason’s latest offering is. The stylistic chameleon approach of the past has been jettisoned for something far more personal and rewarding. Not necessarily better, just more befitting a man with such an underappreciated back catalogue. The faithful at Audio knew it, let’s hope the rest of the world wakes up too. Boys Outside – so good, Steve Mason put his name to it.