As October gives way to the dark, nippy evenings of November and beyond, most of us will find ourselves turning to music – old favourites and new discoveries both – that double up as soundtracks to the seasonal transition. For some, this will(and, as we see it, absolutely should) include the extraordinary new album from Derry’s Conor Mason. Six years on from his second album, Standstill, On The Surface finds the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist at the peak of his powers in the realm of carefully-crafted, and beautifully wistful alt-pop.  From the sublime harmonic arc and flow singles ‘Follow’ and ‘On The Surface’,…