Black Affair - Pleasure Pressure Point
[V2]

Steve Mason has been through a lot in the aftermath of the Beta Band’s concluding chapters, so it may come as a surprise to some to hear of his new Black Affair project sounding so focused and fit for consumption.

Having said that, Mason’s creative streak continued to course through the veins of the more recent King Biscuit Time material without much let-up, so perhaps it is not entirely unexpected for this latest twist in the post-Beta Band era to be quickly and boldly taking him in a completely different direction to his previous stuff.

In collaboration with Detroit beatsmith Jimmy Edgar, ‘Pleasure Pressure Point’ is a dark electro album competently injected with various doses of industrial beats and 80s pop sensibility, managing to chill and uplift in equal measure. Mason’s hushed vocal style complements the electronic instrumentation well throughout, and extensive exposure to the LP leaves you helpless to prevent yourself from conjuring up images of Don Johnson sharing a dancefloor with faceless robots.

The likes of ‘It’s Real’ and ‘You And Me’ make light work of taking the eighties-style synths and creating something more modern, such is the extent of the tracks’ instrumental layering and sudden changes in snare-tinged rhythms. They’re danceable for sure, but the overriding feeling of oddness heightens the intrigue no end.

Album highlight Tak! Attack! could well be the work of any experienced electro stalwart from decades past, with its shimmering, spangly intro and big Human League-esque refrains, but the song manages to stand up on its own on account of its bizarre hypnotic quality and strange catchiness. To be frank, it is hard to think of an instance in the past where I have ended up whistling a tune as weird as this one, having heard it randomly on the stereo earlier in the day.

Repeated encounters with ‘Pleasure Pressure Point’ make it clear that Mason and Edgar have crafted a record of great depth here, albeit one which will, in all likelihood, polarise opinions within the respective fanbases of the two artists’ separate back catalogues. Those not keen to sample Black Affair in the first instance ought to be reined in though – it’s a stab in the dark, but one which eventually pays dividends.

Pleasure Pressure Point Tracklisting:

1. PPP
2. It Goes Like This
3. Just Keep Walking
4. It’s Real
5. Japanese Happening
6. You And Me
7. Reel To Reel
8. Subfuge
9. Will She Come
10. Sweet
11. Tak! Attack!
12. Mute Me
13. Pills