Biography

The term "cult hero" was practically created for Anton Barbeau, whose surreal yet melodious psychedelic guitar pop bears the stamp of predecessors like XTC, Syd Barrett, Julian Cope, and Robyn Hitchcock. He first gained traction in the pop underground in 1994 after his debut long-player, The Horse's Tongue, took home the Sammie (Sacramento Area Music Awards) for album of the year. Since then, he has released a steady stream of acclaimed albums, including Drug Free, In the Village of the Apple Sun, Manbird, and Power Pop!!!, and has collaborated with members of XTC, the Soft Boys, the Bevis Frond, Cake, the Loud Family, Elf Power, and the Corner Laughers, among others. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Barbeau began honing his self-described "pre-apocalyptic psychedelic pop" in the 1980s. After achieving regional success in the early 1990s, the noted anglophile began splitting his time between Sacramento and the U.K., releasing albums on various labels such as Idiot, Frigidisk, and 125 Records. In 1999, he released Antology, Vol. 1, a compilation of material previously available on cassette only, and A Splendid Tray, which featured guest appearances by the Loud Family's Scott Miller and Cake's Gabe Nelson. 2003 saw the release of King of Missouri, which was produced in England with members of fellow psych-pop enthusiasts the Bevis Frond. He collaborated again with Scott Miller on the 2006 Loud Family release What If it Works?, and later that year released two of his most revered solo efforts, Drug Free and In the Village of the Apple Sun. Automatic Door and Plastic Guitar appeared in 2007 and 2009, respectively, followed by Psychedelic Mynde of Moses in 2010. He worked with Sacramento singer Allyson Seconds on her 2009 effort Bag of Kittens and again in 2016 on Little World, the latter of which featured guest spots from Colin Moulding (XTC), Kimberley Rew (the Soft Boys and Katrina and the Waves), and Scott Miller. He recorded two albums with Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor (Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians) under the moniker Three Minute Tease (who released 2011's Three Minute Tease and 2014's Bite the Hand), and in 2016 he issued Magic Act on the Spanish label You Are the Cosmos. Natural Causes arrived two years later, followed by a string of well-received solo efforts, including Manbird (2020), Oh the Joys We Live For (2021), and Power Pop!!! (2022). ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi