SALT, The Loneliness Of Clouds, 2019

Album Review

By Henry Lipput

SALT is a new group made up of both French and American musicians. In addition to Stéphane Schück on guitars, electric sitar, and keyboards, Fred Quentin on bass, and Benoît Lautridou on drums, there's the psych-pop maestro Anton Barbeau on guitars and keyboards and Ken Stringfellow on guitars, keyboards, and percussion.

Schück, Barbeau, and Stringellow first joined up in 2016 to support the recording of the late Scott Miller's last album Supercalifragilistic Game Theory. They were joined by Schück's old bandmates Quentin and Lautridou and, as SALT, they rehearsed in Berlin and Paris to developed The Loneliness of Clouds and recorded the album in Abbey Road studios with Stringfellow handling production duties.

You may be familiar with Barbeau and Stringfellow, the two Americans in the band. I've reviewed 2016's Magic Act and last year's Natural Causes by Barbeau for CoolDad; and he played on, wrote, and produced the fantastic Little World album for the wonderful Allyson Seconds. Stringfellow was part of The Posies who released some very fine albums in the 90s and beyond including the vocally amazing Dear 23. In addition to supporting R.E.M. on tour, he and his Posies partner Ken Auer joined Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens in the Big Star reboot.

The Loneliness of Clouds is very much a group effort, but because Barbeau translated and co-wrote the lyrics with Schück and sings lead on almost every track, it sometimes seems that this is another Anton release. It sure points in that direction with song titles like "Blast With Happy Guru," "Miracle Soul Pow(d)er," and "Shiny Leather Sun." 

The main difference between Barbeau's other albums and The Loneliness of Clouds is that SALT is a proper group and not Barbeau leading a group of side men (if you want to refer to the likes of former XTC songwriter and bass player and now half of TC&I Colin Molding and Robbie McIntosh of Pretenders and a stint with Paul McCartney as sidemen). This is a side to Barbeau that we don't often see or hear, and it would be great to have SALT take to the road.

SALT is a terrific band and has a Beatles and XTC vibe drawing from records like Revolver and Oranges and Lemons as well some recognizable Barbeau sounds. No matter what he's singing Barbeau has distinctive phrasing, and this even feeds into Stringfellow's vocals on "Blast With Happy Guru" which becomes a sprawling psychedelic workout and highlights the power and range of SALT the band.

The Loneliness of Clouds is out now on Beehive.

Allyson Seconds, Little World, 2016

Album Review

By Henry Lipput

Allyson Seconds's new album, Little World, like her 2009 debut Bag Of Kittens, was written and produced by Anton Barbeau. Earlier this year I reviewed (favorably) Barbeau's Magic Act. And, although Barbeau is based in Berlin, he’s a Sacramento native and has used his West Coast upbringing to create some sunny California indie-pop for Little World.

I didn't hear Bag Of Kittens when it came out, but I very much hear Little World as a sister album to Mary Lou Lord's terrific 1997 Got No Shadow. Many of the songs on that disc were written by Lord and Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond, so it's not surprising that The Bevis Frond play on Little World.

In addition to The Bevis Frond and Kimberly Rew (of The Soft Boys and some fine solo work), Barbeau and Seconds have also brought along Colin Moulding to play bass (and, based on the "Little World" video, also contribute some backing vocals) on Little World. It was good to see Moulding's name on the credits for Magic Act, because I hadn't heard much about him since the final XTC album, the great Wasp Star, was released in 2000.

From the first song, Little World is full of wonder, joy, and delight, due, in large measure, to Seconds's voice. Barbeau's work can be quirky, surrealistic, and occasionally dark, but Seconds transforms the words and melodies into an album that's warm and upbeat.

And, although she recreates Anton Barbeau's phrasing in some songs, Seconds makes most of them her own for a great part of the album. For me, her voice is similar not only to Mary Lou Lord, but on many tracks, she also reminds me of whitechocolatespaceegg-era Liz Phair as well as the darker side of Sam Phillips (who is not all Gilmore Girl lalalas). It's a sign of how good a voice Seconds has that she can sound like either a child or a woman in these songs.

The title song has a driving beat, a great bass line, and is full of child-like wonder. The song has Barbeau's trademark quirky wordplay but Seconds's voice turns it into a fairy tale: "I'm going to ride to the ocean on a turtle egg" and "I'm going to stare up at the stars in a field of wheat."

The lovely "Dust Beneath My Wings" is a mashup of Liz Phair and Lewis Carroll. "Love is everywhere," she sings, "It sings to the alligator's hair / it sings to the cumulus laid out miles before him."

Seconds is flirting on "Eye Kinda:" "If I could be with you now in a postcard locale / I'd send myself in a mail right to you." Flirting turns to sex on the Sam Phillips-like "Ono Waltz:" "When the neighbors complain / Turn the stereo high as it can go."

The final song is the autumnal "Apples Are Falling." There's a strummed acoustic guitar accompanying Seconds's vocal and, as the song builds, a spacey backing vocal and a melancholy horn solo join the mix. As the song ends, the apples are still falling, the worms have arrived, and the leaves are turning brown.

With the reprise of the title song we are back to the beginning and Allyson Seconds's world, with the help of Anton Barbeau, is again a thing of wonder.

Little World is out now on Beehive Sound.