Five years after their debut album “Midnight Road,” the blues-rock trio Mason is releasing the follow-up.
“My Kind of Trouble” is grittier than its predecessor, brings a sharp-edged groove, and blues hooks flavored with Southern and surf rock and subtle reggae influences to its blistering guitar-screaming blues rock.
Frontman Jacob Acosta said the band wanted to take more chances with the project.
“It’s just a fun album. It’s got all kinds of styles of rock in it and the blues that we do,” said Acosta, Tucson’s longtime versatile musician who also has an active solo career.
The record, which the band will release digitally with a show on Friday, Sept. 9, at Hotel Congress, features Acosta with drummer Andre Gressieux and bass player Barry Young, who replaced original bassist Johnny Zapp around 2018. For Friday’s show, the trio will add a fourth, guitar player Jason Allen, who played on the debut album.
“My Kind of Trouble” has a live feel to the tracks, which Acosta said were all recorded in single takes. “I Am the Law” is straight-up rocker while the album closer “Come My Way” has a Beatles-meets-blues-rocking-screamo vibe. The album opens with the Jimi Hendrix-esque rocker “Get Your Kicks,” with extended lead guitar solos to the thump-thump of Gressieux’s drum. “Desert Blues,” with Acosta extolling the virtues of howling at the moon, would make B.B. King proud before Mason switches gears on “Hey Sally,” which starts out as a slower tempo blues tune before segueing into Southern-rock-meets-rockabilly.
Acosta was correct: “My Kind of Trouble” explores blues rock in all its fantastic sonic colors.
“We’re just excited for this release,” said Acosta, adding that the album will only be released digitally.
Doors open at 6 pm. for Friday’s concert, which will be held on the Hotel Congress Plaza stage, 311 E. Congress St. Tickets are $8 in advance at hotelcongress.com; it’s $10 at the door. Tucson blues singer-songwriter Tom Walbank opens the show.
