Anton Barbeau is one of a legion of American pop anglophiles. The Kinks, The Beatles, XTC and Robyn Hitchcock loom large among his influences. In Barbeau’s case, the favour been returned: He’s recorded with The Bevis Frond and has two albums out on Dorset’s Pink Hedgehog label. The first, Waterbugs & Beetles is a re-release of his sophomore CD from 1995. The second, Drug Free, is his last but one, from 2006. The two albums share definite similarities: Barbeau laid down most of both albums by himself. Nine other musicians came in to lend harmonies, the odd spot of drumming and a few overdubs on Waterbugs & Beetles. On Drug Free, Barbeau once again handles the lion’s share of the music-making – he’s credited with vocals, guitars, a variety of keyboards, bass drums, harmonica, woodwinds and "bird-calls and nonsense" – and pulls in another large collection of helping hands (18 in all, this time) to fill out the corners. Both albums share Barbeau’s most distinctive feature (and drawback): His singing voice. It’s energetic (some might say manic) and tuneful but has a nasal, tremulous side that may rub some listeners the wrong way. That said, Waterbugs & Beetles is definitely the product of reckless youth, Drug Free the product of a seasoned veteran.

Barbeau seems to feel the same way. Although it’s been lauded as his best work, he’s given Waterbugs & Beetles a bit of a trim. The 19-song original is now 16 tracks over 46 minutes. ‘Groovy’, ‘Jelly’, ‘Untitled (But Sad)’ and ‘I Want You Not Around’ all get the chop as being under-recorded or just plain bad; ‘Beautiful Bacon Dream’ also gets a dub version. (For those who worry about such things, the original cover art, a grainy black-and-white photo of a shaggy Barbeau, has been replaced with a photo of a kitten.) Trimmed or not, the album is an eclectic offering, with pop tunes, punchier rockers and acoustic ballads keeping company with throwaway snippets. The album leaps out of the starting gate with breakneck girl ode ‘Allyson 23’, and then slows things down for some musical grumbling on ‘MTV Song’. It then segues into Hitchcock territory with ‘A Proper Cup Of Tea’ (goes well with poison, apparently) and the insect-fixated title track, a gentle acoustic number that breaks for a stately but overdriven electric guitar lead part.

‘Beautiful Bacon Dream’ is a clunky and chunky tune based around a climbing riff – it works primarily by splitting ‘Waterbugs And Beetles’ from the other acoustic centrepiece of the album, ‘The Epic Ballad Of Sarah And Zoe’. ‘The Epic Ballad’ highlights Barbeau’s anglophiliac streak with references to Heathrow Airport and Morris Minors. ‘Complicated Umbrella Piece’ is a snippet of answering machine message, ‘The Tad Song’ is another oddity – starting as a somewhat conventional ‘boy-loses-girl, tells girl she doesn’t know what she’s missing’ power-pop putdown, it veers crazily into a frenetic blizzard of noise, crashes to a halt then comes back as a hard rock tune. ‘Bible Beater’ is a ruder, poppier tune which contains the line "You shall get to heaven if you rub a little harder." Another oddity ‘Slimy Cello Piece’ is just that (although it doesn’t sound all that slimy, it does appear to feature a cello.)

‘Long John’ is a more experimental tune, with a pair of children discussing a game of hide-and-seek over a crackly loop. ‘Vomit Song’ is a low-fidelity goofball ramshackle strummer that borders on the novelty tune. ‘Come To Me (Made Of Metal)’ brings things down to earth, a slow, melodic love song that brings in a crunchier electric sound just past the halfway point. It’s followed by ‘Come (Again)’, a goofier take on the same tune and by the album capper, the dub version of ‘Beautiful Bacon Dream’. Ten years later, Barbeau has knocked out a slew of albums, co-operated with the aforementioned Frond fellows (on King Of Missouri) and generally refined his craft. Older and wiser definitely suits Barbeau: He’s become a much sharper producer. His singing is also less strenuous. The stacked harmonies and piano that gild the title track of 'Drug Free' make for a superb opener (they sound so nice that he tries it again on the brief ‘Lop It Off'). Added touches like the whistling on the suitably subdued ‘Leave It With Me, I’m Always Gentle’.

‘Just Passing By’ is a full-bodied pop piece with a disconcerting lyrical undertow. ‘Alphalpha Bhang’ once again lays on the multi-tracked vocals for an epic, slightly druggy, tale of children discovering their parents up to no good (although exactly what is a bit unclear). Barbeau gets strumming again for the deceptively bouncy ‘Disco Dress’. ‘Boncentration Bamps’ begins as a stripped-down acoustic number. Barbeau’s simple,repeated lyrics “I don’t like the sound of the boncentration bamps ... come away, sailor” are presumably an oblique take on current U.S. affairs with an extended psychedelic bridge. 'Magic Metal Apron’ flies along on a dreamy chorus ... just don’t ask for the verses to make any sense (they seem to focus mostly on food). ‘She Wears A Green Leaf’ makes about as much sense, with the chorus describing the protagonist’s sartorial habits (leafy, as the title suggests) and the verses being a barmy travelogue. ‘Oh The Malaise’ is an acousticlament of too easy going days which drift off suddenly to make way for another repeated acoustic number ‘Circus For The Stars’. ‘In A Boat On The Sea’ takes a leisurely tack, with neat little licks interposed between Barbeau’s ruminatory lyrics. ‘Alphalpha Drone’ ends the album with a blend of backward guitar, surges of Farfisa and studio chatter.

Although it is about the same length, give or take a minute, as Waterbugs, Drug Free comes as a far firmer piece of work. The guitars are quieter, but the rhythms move the songs along in a far more determined fashion, and listeners will likely feel themselves more inclined to bop along. The only thing holding it back is a hideous cover portrait of the artist, which resemblesa candid snap deemed unfit for the family photo album. Both albums hold treats for pop fans: Some will prefer Waterbugs scattershot songraft, quirky melodies and guitar crunch, while others will find the more refined Drug Free a more consistent pleasure. Both albums makes a good entry into Barbeau’s catalogue.

Reviewed at Pennyblack Music by Andrew Carver, UK

'Allyson 23', what a song! The Gin Blossoms, R.E.M. and The Auteurs all rolled into one. This album is full of absurd hooks and clever lyrics. Anton's vocal is the intriguing mix of Robyn Hitchcock, Dave Pirner and Donnie Vie (Enuff Z' Nuff). 'Beautiful Bacon Dream' is whacked-out, as is a lot of the intrumentation. But, and this is important, Anton knows when to keep it simple and 'The Epic Ballad Of Sarah And Zoe' is the match of any.

Reviewed in Positive Creed by Steve C. Stone, UK

Originally issued back in 1995, if you missed out on this brilliant album, don't be daft enough to do it again! An amazing selection of melodic psychy guitar-pop tunes that haven't dated at all in 10 years. We love every track on this album! CD Of The Week.

Reviewed at Starship Overflow by Garry Lee, UK

Prising open this treasure chest of gasping pumping classic pop tunes is the best thing you could do all winter. ANTON BARBEAU's 10th Anniversary album calls back on songs like 'MTV Song' and 'Allyson 23'. Probably your cup of tea if THE LEMONHEADS romped with T-REX. It does have the odd acoustic lighter moments, but as with most ANTON BARBEAU songs it's held together with the huge rush of originality with that lustful cent of serenity.

Reviewed in Spill by Will Porteous, UK

In Ant’s own words his forté is "intelligent, fractured pop" with songs on just about anything. They could be about proper cups of tea or weekend delights like bacon (with apologies to you vegetarians out there!) The songs can also be less esoteric and more hard hitting like the menacingly heavy yet irresistibly infectious ‘MTV Song’ which deals with plagiarism - "the song that should have made me millions" to be precise. The insidious ‘Allyson 23’ is a strong opener with an incredible number of words fitting perfectly within its bars and some mad guitar from Ant. Another favourite is 'Beautiful Bacon Dream’ with its fabulous chorus and its musical theme is reprised (not entirely successfully) on a hidden track at the end in ‘Beautiful Bacon Dub'.

Indeed Ant’s music benefits from the full band treatment and the rhythm section kick up a storm. ‘The Epic Ballad Of Sarah & Zoe’ gets the acoustic treatment and what seemed like a ménage a trois in the back of a Morris Minor includes wider references to espionage! ‘Tad Song’ is also "up close and personal" - "you could have been my girlfriend". Still, however voyeuristic you feel at times the music has enough charm and grace to let Anton Barbeau get away with anything lyrically! He even quotes "Mrs Brown you’ve got a lovely daughter" within this - and there’s a credit for the god and toilet noises! And he never steers away from controversy in his lyrics - check out ‘Bible Beater’ and ‘Bed of Pain’ for instance.

Ant’s music is punctuated by tape loops of answering machines, ‘a slimy cello’ reprises of songs (‘Come To Me’) and sometimes even silences. There is also a brief Dylan pastiche ‘Vomit Song’. I am aware that Ant has already done some editing since the first release of Waterbugs & Beetles in 1995. However, I would say a little more judicious editing would have enhanced the impact of an album full of wonderful moments. Influences range from The Beatles, XTC and Dylan to Julian Cope and Eno. There’s also a hint of Crowded House and They Might Be Giants in some of the songs. Recommended. I also recommend Ant’s website www.antonbarbeau.com as a very user friendly place to navigate around.

Reviewed in Zeitgeist by Phil Jackson, UK

In the days of CDs coming in legacy editions, re-mastered versions and probably very soon the 18 months since first release special mix with a useless cardboard sleeve around the jewel case version. And so it is that even Sacramento singer songwriter Anton Barbeau gets a tenth anniversary edition of his second album. It's probably a lot more deserving in this case as the original is difficult to track down nowadays.

The album sees Anton going through a power pop stage, channelling the spirit of Soul Asylum in the rebellious 'Allyson' and the thumping drum driven 'MTV Song'. Alternatively he evokes the sound of The Gigolo Aunts during 'A Proper Cup Of Tea'. The thing with making simplistic songs is it leaves the songwriter nothing to hide behind, pushing the melody to the fore. Thankfully it's a good medium for Anton. When he strips things back even further it's even better, such as the lovely acoustic title track.

'Beautiful Bacon Dream' sounds half finished, in a way that sun drenched west coast pop often does and 'The Epic Ballad Of Sarah & Zoe' sees Anton spinning a yarn in a very Dylan style. Of the other tracks 'Tad Song' injects elements of music hall and rockabilly into the usual power pop mix and 'Bed Of Pain' is a low slinky groove with soulful sounding vocals. So if you like your pleasures simple and have a keen ear for melody then you could do much worse than Waterbugs & Beetles.

Reviewed at Russell's Reviews by Russell Barker, UK

Lastly but not leastly, comes the reissue of ANTON BARBEAU's 1995 album Waterbugs & Beetles which if you really dug ROBYN HITCHCOCK in his days with THE EGYPTIANS, will absolutely adore this. Sure, it's psychedelic and BARRETTesque but not in an obvious way. No doubt, some of you will be able to trace the influences of ANDY (XTC) PARTRIDGE and GUIDED BY VOICES as well, which is all good news. 'MTV Song' is a cracker!

Reviewed in Fufkin by Kevin Mathews, SINGAPORE

It has ten years behind, ANTON BARBEAU launched its record-ground of estréia, Waterbugs & Beetles and as form to commemorate the date, the Pink Hedgehog decided to relaunch it, in a special edition. The great difference between the original record and this launching is the lesser number of bands - 16 against 19. Anton made question to remove four old musics, as exactly it explains in encarte, placing still unknown - 'A Beautiful Dub Bacon'. Thus, 'Groovy', 'Untitled (But sad)', 'Jelly' and 'I Want You Not Around' had been rasped. The record already all gave samples of the potential of the musician. Playing some instruments and acting as producing, Anton shows its old classroom in molding songs of a beautiful lyricism pop.

Nick Saloman, of THE BEVIS FROND, already said (and very well) that it knew few people who have a catalogue of great songs as this musician of Sacrament. The test already can be felt in the two bands of openings, 'Allyson 23' and 'MTV Song'. Anton already all showed its ironic side in 'Beautiful Beacon Dream', 'Complicated Umbrella Piece' and 'Bible Beater', beyond its more experimental side - 'Slimy Cello Piece' and 'Vomit Song'. Ten years later (and with some new projects in the needle for 2006), Waterbugs & Beetles already it gave to all the tracks of that it would make in the following years. A gorgeous Christmas present for who tans good music.

Reviewed at Mofo by Rubens Leme Da Costa, BRAZIL

For the reissue of his rare second album, Sacramento bard ANTON BARBEAU has taken the unusual step of cutting songs from the original running order, rather than adding bonus cuts. I've not heard the first version, so I've no idea if it's a loss, but I'm happy to have this record back in print. It's not quite as wigged-out as so much of Barbeau's later work, but it's still wonderfully lyrically eccentric, super-catchy power pop. It's nice to know such a deviant mind has always owned a bottomless well of great hooks. Accessible and weird, just like the man's best.

Reviewed at High Bias by Michael Toland, USA