Steve Mason – “Stars Around My Heart”

Steve Mason – “Stars Around My Heart”

Hey, we’re finally at the point of the year where next year’s records are starting to get announced! So mark your calendars with this: Steve Mason, former frontman of Scottish space-pop geniuses the Beta Band, is coming back in January, following up his 2016 solo album Meet The Humans with a new one called About The Light.

Mason recorded About The Light with Smiths/Blur producer Stephen Street, and he brought his live band into the studio with him. As Clash Music reports, Mason says, “I decided with this album that I wanted to get my live band involved at every stage because I wanted to capture the energy that we produce when we play live shows, so this time the band and myself worked on a collection of songs over the course of last year.”

First single “Stars Around My Heart” has that old Beta Band faraway-pop feeling, but it’s also sharper and more concrete. It’s got horns that remind me of the white soul records coming out of the UK in the ’80s. In director Brother Willis’ murky retro-sci-fi video, a mysterious stranger pays a visit to earth. Check it out below.

About The Light is out 1/18 of next year on Domino. Pre-order it here.

more from New Music