Anton Barbeau Drug Free

'A cult hero's s cult hero' is apparently one way to describe our Anton here, whatever that means. Using the Beatles as a comparison to his sound, therefore, is something of a confusing one in this light.

But several seconds into the opening title track, it makes some sense. It's possibly the most Lennon sounding song I've heard since Free as a Bird - and

it works too, chugging away in a pleasant enough manner. It seems Anton is one of those singer-songwriter types who have been doing the rounds for sometime but never quite crop up on your radar. He's already well past the five album mark, remarkably. He's also already garnered some praise on both sides of the Atlantic - his hometown recently celebrated his talents by throwing numerous prizes his way while mainstream press notices have began to trickle in.

Drug Free is clearly an album by a man with ideas galore and the patience to then go and sketch them out. However, the overwhelming 60s-ness does get a bit grating after a while. Apparently, Andy Partridge of XTC is a fan and the two songwriters do share a love of the more weird side of that decade. But while Partridge was able to combine that with a knack of killer hooks and sublime melodies, Barbeau at times seems over-reaching. Additionally, 19 second tracks like Lop It Off seem deliberately quirky and equally irritating as do as a series of shorter numbers which, quite frankly, go nowhere fast.

Barbeau is at his best on songs like Just Passing By when his writing qualities are allowed the space to shine and more basic and effective ideas (such as the cheapo sounding guitar solo) bring substance to the table.

There's plenty to investigate on Drug Free and Barbeau will doubtless be back to make another album. Perhaps the next will find him even more friends.