Anton Barbeau: Glitch Wizard & Dig The Light

photo: Karen Frances Eng

Psych-pop musician Anton Barbeau shows his versatility by releasing two full albums simultaneously: the dark Glitch Wizard and the optimistic Dig The Light. By doing so he was able to capture his more morose and introspective side next to his outgoing personality, a range of emotions that the listener can relate to and play to suit the current mood he or she is in.

Glitch Wizard
After hiding in his shell after being struck down by grief and seeking for a way out through psychedelics and listening on repeat to a bunch of Steeleye Dan albums, Barbeau resurfaced with a baker's dozen of well-structured bleak songs to chase away his inner demons.

The darkness is still prevalent, but he does manage to let a little light in, with Dave Gregory (XTC) on guitar, Andy Metcalfe (Soft Boys) on bass, and Donald Ross Skinner (Julian Cope) with his cosmic textures all reaching out to him to pull him out of his emotional quagmire. Family, hitting the town and nicotine offered some respite as well, but endless tinkering in his studio was the only thing that really helped. Despite the prolonged process the songs were not polished ad infinitum. Depression and spontaneity are unlikely bedfellows, but lo and behold, when done right, it is a match made in heaven (or in hell).

Tracks:

1. Glitch Wizard
2. Nightcrawler
3. Cousins
4. Cigarettes
5. Feed The Machine
6. Secret Sister Please
7. Sing High
8. Off The Hook
9. Soft Golden Halo
10. Almost Om
11. All I Want Is A Little More Of Your Time
12. Me Coughing
13. A Pattern Forming

Glitch Wizard is released via Think Like A Key Music (CD, digital).

Dig The Light
When the darkness had subsided Barbeau dug deep into his bag of tricks and treasure trove of sound effect, sprinkling faerie dust on the songs that ended up on this album. It is a sonic trip - he evens meets Syd Barrett riding high on some undisclosed mind-expanding chemical enhancement. He is out in the world again, ready to connect with people and life in general.

He appreciates the little things as a means to look at the greater picture, using old school melodic psychedelic rock as the vessel for his musings. Naive? Maybe. But also inspiring and a bit of escapism to get away from the madness has never hurt anybody.

Tracks:

1. Moondust Hallelujah
2. Dogstar
3. Cosmic Mind Awaken
4. Dig The Light
5. Incantation
6. Come The Hummingbird
7. Mushroom Madness
8. All My Dreams
9. I Saw Syd
10. Life Gives You Lemons
11. High On A Mountain Hill
12. Mahogany Jam Jar
13. Hallelujah Sun

Dig The Light is released via Think Like A Key Music (CD, digital).

Live dates:

• 07/18 Sacramento, CA @ Old Ironsides
• 08/08 Davis, CA @ Delta of Venus

» antonbarbeau.com