Anton Barbeau and Andy Reed

Edward Rogers

Anton Barbeau “Magic Act”

Sacramento, Calif. born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anton Barbeau is one of those artists who never neatly fit in a single category over his 20 year career, but always knew how to craft a catchy melody. With “Magic Act” he continues to mix unconventional sound textures, weird lyrics and bubble gum rock to great effect – like if David Bowie, Andy Partridge and Adrian Belew had a baby together.

“High Noon” is a great example of minimal melody with a nice hook. But this gem is just a prelude for Anton’s weirdness on “Flying Spider” where “there is no rhyme, only reason.” In most cases his music falls in between the commercially palatable and the Rundgren-meets-Zappa stream of lyric on “Milk Churn In The Morning.” There are plenty of song worthy of repeat listens: “City By The Sea,” “Sit Your Leggy Down,” the psychedelic jingle “Black Lemon Sauce,” and “Swindon.” Like most of Barbeau’s catalog its definitely worth exploring.

Amazon

Andy Reed

Andy Reed “An Introduction to Andy Reed”

Andy Reed is a singer/songwriter/producer from Bay City, MI. who’s been involved in many successful music projects (The Legal Matters, American Underdog) and after an initial EP release, Relay Vol.1 last year, the floodgates have opened on Andy’s catalog. An Introduction To  Andy Reed is perfect for those who want to wade deeper into his material.

A perfect cover of Jay Ferguson’s 70s hit “Thunder Island” leads to the sweet perfection of “Dreaming of The West Coast.” Andy slips into pop balladry mode on “Love Is Gone” and then shifts into the strong harmonic pop of “World Of Make Believe,” with its Jellyfish-like melody. His crisp tenor vocals, overdubs and solitary strum fill out most of the songs here. Highlights include “The Show Goes On,” the Elvis Costello styled “Crimes Of Paris” and vaudevillian tune “Always On The Run.” Fans of Wyatt Funderburk and Brandon Schott will definitely want this music. And if you wish to dive further into Reed-land, check out last year’s 22 track Oddities and Entities, a classic compilation of his past work.

Amazon | GetHip (vinyl)