When I received this promo I thought Anton Barbeau’s name sounded familiar. I checked the Aural Innovations index and saw that one of my writers reviewed the Sacramento based singer-songwriter’s 2006 In The Village of the Apple Sun album some years ago, making analogies with Robyn Hitchcock and Julian Cope, which is interesting because Barbeau covers songs by both those artists on his first Fruits de Mer release. So I went back and gave a listen to In The Village of the Apple Sun, rolling my eyes at the thought of yet another talent that had flown too far under my radar (it tends to happen when I get promos that others end up covering). Wow, what a killer set of well-crafted, produced and arranged psychedelic songs! And that’s just this one album; the guy has a discography of nearly 20 albums dating back to 1993. Furthermore, I see in the promo sheet that accompanies the FDM single that Barbeau is currently playing around the UK in a trio called Three Minute Tease, consisting of himself, Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor from Robyn Hitchcock’s Soft Boys/Egyptians.
Ok, so, this new FDM single: Psychedelic Mynde Of Moses is a previously unreleased version of an existing Anton Barbeau song. I’ve not heard the original, but this is a nice catchy psych song, and even if I didn’t read it in the promo sheet I’d have known the guitar solos were by Nick “Bevis Frond” Saloman. The first of two covers is Barbeau’s interpretation of Robyn Hitchock’s Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl, a wild ride of a rocker, with a combination of intensity and whimsy that I enjoyed, and some pretty crazy lyrics. Finally, we’ve got a pop-psych-punk-spacerock cover of Julian Cope’s Out Of My Mind On Dope And Speed, with frantic tribal drumming and freaked out electronics. This is the hands down highlight of the set for me.
The single will be available mid-October and is limited to 800 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!
For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz