Music Review

09 January 2009 21:39 BST

Anton Barbeau - The Automatic Door

Shifty Disco Records, out October 15th 2007.

In a nutshell...

Psychedelic, pretentious, quirky, random and amusing

What's it all about?

The Automatic Door is the latest instalment from Anton Barbeau, who has been quietly but quickly building up a global fan base with his quirky lyrics and catchy ditties, with his choice of topics regularly flirting between the surreal and the serious – switching from a song about being "beyond the valley of the dolphins", to commenting on bombings, religion and capitalism all within the space of a few minutes. Whichever way you look at it, it certainly makes for an interesting listen.

To categorise this album would be awkward at best. Anton's influences are obvious and varied from the off, ranging from the Beatles to Julius Cope to Aphrodite's Child - and the result is an album packed full of fascinating contradictions that really shouldn't work... but for the most part do!

Who's it by?

The Automatic Door is Sacramento workaholic Anton Barbeau's fifth release in less than two years. The latest offering is named after the track The Automatic Door which was inspired by a museum exhibit that featured the very first automatic door. Anton commented "I wanted to capture what I imagined was a sort of wideeyed Buck Rogers vision of the future. Somehow the song turned instead into an anti-fundamentalist rant! The London bombings, George Bush, the return of the Goddess, surfboards – what more do you need in a pop song?".

Anton has also teamed up with Oxfordshire-born singer Su Jordon and the duo have since been referred to in some circles as "Sonny and Cher on 'shrooms", although this description could be construed as a little unfair if interpreted on one level, as the pair complement each other's voices incredibly well and sound coherent throughout!

The album also features the Soft Boys' Kimberly Rew on guitars and CAKE’s Gabe Nelson, Todd Roper and Greg Brown.

As an example...

"The filthy rich and the filthy poor/everybody passes through the automatic door/Jesus on the cross/Muhammad kneeling on the floor/everybody passes through the automatic door." - The Automatic Door

"Staring at the sun/trying to find my inner hippie/I'm a self-made hat-rack on the run/
There ain't no cause for alarm/there ain't no cause for good reason/It's just hurricane season." - Staring at the Sun

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

Unlikely – although that is not to say the album isn't good, far from it. It's just that until they start giving Grammys out to cult heroes, then what chance does the self-professed "cult hero's cult hero" have?

What the others say

"Anton Barbeau represents the Sacramento chapter of that nameless coterie of enduringly reliable, acid-tinged singer-songwriters... His new album bathes beautifully constructed, thoughtfully arranged songs in a fading psychedelic sunshine, and it would be casual consumers' album of the year if only they got to hear it." The Sunday Times

"Anton Barbeau crafts one hell of a pop song... Barbeau can go-go-go. The ditties are slight, some little more than two chords bouncing back and forth. The lyrics, too, are sweet and add and tasty – just the right mix to leave you singing along after only a listen or two." Rodney Gibbs (Splendid.com)

So is it any good?

While The Automatic Door is unlikely to go on to become a worldwide hit record, it will undoubtedly receive acclaim from those in the know on the singer-songwriter circuit. Anton has been described as "impossible to resist and downright rude to ignore".

The first and most obvious talking point is undoubtedly the Beatles link – which even the most novice of musical ear could recognise. The psychedelic sitar laden Beatles records of the mid-p60s have heavily influenced this record. The tracks Staring at the Sun, You Can Move the Mountain and Poking Myself in the Eye to Spite my Finger all ooze 60s charm that the late ambassador for psychedelia George Harrison would have been proud of.

The insatiable vocal harmonies provided by Su Jordan are exquisite and certainly give much of the album another dimension, and don't be fooled by the psychedelic façade that some of the messages of the album may risk being lost behind – Anton has some serious points to make!

In the title track Anton sings of the tragedy of conflict – "On cobblestone I walk a crooked mile/whilst polishing the sugar in my smile/Where has gone the mother we call mom?/child becomes the father to the bomb," while also showing he can pen a sensitive line for the romantics out there. In the closing track As Cool As Folk he sings: "As cool as folk as beautiful as you are true to me/The light shines through the leaves of every tree."

This is an album that should be heard by many, but one fears it will be heard by few because of the nature of the beast that is the mainstream music industry. However those few should consider themselves to be the lucky few as this is undoubtedly a diamond in the rough. It has an instant likeability factor and should be his most successful and widely received album to date. So go forth and spread the word of Anton Barbeau!!

8.5/10

Jamie Reid