Pitchfork

Sometimes after a breakup, it's best to start over with a clean slate. Steve Mason was frontman for Scotland's Beta Band, whose generous, pastoral space-pop made for some of the turn-of-the-millennium's most exciting listening. Following the Beta Band's split in 2004, Mason revived his side project, King Biscuit Time, for last year's Black Gold. Then he disappeared.

Now, after the end of what he describes as a "destructive" relationship, Mason has returned with a new solo project, Black Affair. The bleak electro-soul of first single "Tak! Attack!" shows Mason waking up angry and ready to dance after the sleepy melancholia of King Biscuit Time's last effort. "You nothing lady," he spits. Mixed by Warp's Jimmy Edgar, the track put crisp 1980s house beats beneath Mason's vengeful croon, piling up enough retro-futuristic synths to keep the naked lyrics from killing unsuspecting clubgoers' buzz. His former bandmates have regrouped as Aliens, but it's Mason who sounds more alienated here. Like the life of the party.