“Magic Act” Anton Barbeau
For more than 20 years, Anton Barbeau has been creating weird, wonderful indie rock, pop, psyche, and new wave. Originally from Sacramento and still with many NorCal ties, he spends most of his time now as part of the Berlin music scene. His work is always original, unexpected and sometimes irreverent. Like Bowie and the Beatles (which he periodically pays homage to), he likes to test the boundaries and experiment with his art — pushing the listener right to the edge. But his tunes always feature exceptional musicianship and attention to detail. On this album, he had the help of Colin Moulding of XTC, Morris Windsor and Andy Metcalfe of Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, and Karla Kane and Khoi Huynh of The Corner Laughers. Official release date is 3/4/2016.
— Francis

Recommended: 1, 6, 11, 4, 12, 8, 7 No FCCs detected.

1. (3:34) High Noon – Very Bowie-like vocals. Insistent beat. Dirty, scratchy guitars. Nice synth touches. Poses the question, “Did the CIA really kill the Virgin Mary by sending her on a suicide mission to the moon?” ****
2. (3:24) Flying Spider – Psyche-pop with a groovy bass line and finger snaps. Synth swirls.
3. (3:07) Milk Churn in the Morning – Straight-ahead rock. Not sure what this is about — was apparently inspired by an entry in Eurovision 2014.
4. (2:49) City by the Sea – Bouncy tune with a funky, synth-based march-like beat. ***
5. (1:51) Sit Your Leggy Down – Brief, freaky frolic that was created on the spot in 40 minutes in Barbeau’s Sacramento home.
6. (5:04) Broken in Two — Melodic, Beatles-like track with strumming guitar, many musical layers, and power-pop vocals. Careful at end — song fades out at four minutes, then returns for a one-minute coda. ****
7. (3:59) Black Lemon Sauce – New wave, dancey pop-rock earworm. Very clever lyrics. **
8. (3:38) Heavy Psychedelic Toilet – Beatles-like from their experimental period. Far-out, psyche-rock with swirling musical tracks and burbling vocals Not sure what a “heavy psychedelic toilet” is. **
9. (3:01) Euphemism & Innuendo – Delves even deeper into psychedelic dream pop-rock. Reverbed guitars, waver-y vocals and floating synths — building to a big rock finish.
10. (3:16) The Wait of You – Prog rock with pounding drums illustrating the wait (weight) of you. Nice guitar solo at the end.
11. (2:40) Swindon – A strummy love song with electronic drum track, sustained synth chords, and harmonized vocals. Like Brit-rock from the 60s ***
12. (3:17) Blue Lamp Rider – Jittery electronica with psyche influences. Lyrics tell about Barbeau’s youth in the Sacramento area. **
13. (3:59) Hop Skip A Jump – Syncopated rhythm that underscores the song’s title. Reverbed vocals. Great active bass line. Leading Barbeau to his “home by the sea.”
14. (0:50) HPT Reprise – Very short, freaky reprise of “Heavy Psychedelic Toilet.”