Statistically, it's 66% good song and 33% complete befuddlement, which was probably exactly what we should have expected for a Steve Mason (former Beta Band frontman) side project. For two minutes C I AM 15 is a shuffling oddity, with its trousers set to baggy and its groove set to funk, but then Topcat wades in on a political ragga-tip, and the 'have I sat on the remote control' confusion starts.
Confuses, but doesn't spoil. And rather like the title (stare at it long enough and it swims into focus, like a literary magic eye), after a while it all seems to make some kind of bizarre sense. Ok, well not sense per say, but you get the distinct impression it might be about something important.
Meanwhile the beat clatters, the bass splutters, and Mason soothingly purrs over the top; it's just a damn nice thing to listen to, and be slightly nonplussed by. Perplexing, bewildering yet strangely likeable - it's good to have him back.
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