The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau - What If It Works? (Omnivore Recordings)

This reissue of the 2006 collaboration between Scott Miller and Anton Barbeau features the original release plus eleven bonus tracks – ten previously unissued and the eleventh from a rare promotional CD. The packaging features photos and a conversation between Barbeau and Scott’s widow Kristine Miller about the making of this record. For this release, Scott teamed up with fellow Loud Family bandmates Kenny Kessel and Jozef Becker (with Gil Ray and Alison Faith Levy on hand as well).

My interest in Scott’s work dates back to his early days in Game Theory, the Mitch Easter fueled dayglo daydreams of a nascent Scott and friends. I saw Game Theory play at Amherst College back in their heyday and what a show that was. I remember Scott’s curly mop and I think the group was dressed in black, but I am not sure. Those are long ago reflections of a life-long fan, so at least you know where I am coming from. I own the original of this record, but I don’t remember it registering in the way other Loud Family releases did. Now that Scott is sadly gone from us, I am happy to revisit it through the filter of my current musical mindset.

The song opens with a cover of the Jagger-Richards classic “Rocks Off”. Anton and Scott do a great job with this cover, though they change it enough to make it their own and still retain the kick-ass energy of the original. This is followed by “Song About Rocks Off”, which has nothing to do with the cover beyond the title. It is dominated by a Scott vocal and retains some of the classic melodic structure Scott employed on earlier releases. The guitar solo is also killer. “Pop Song 99” is an odd piece, with some psychedelic vocal snippets and some cool keyboards. Anton mentions a white dog from a nightmare of his, and the story behind it in the liner notes is interesting. “Total Mass Destruction” has a familiar riff that had my foot tapping. I also appreciate the clever lyrics and the backing vocal parts. A strong contender for best song on the album! “Remember You” is a Zombies cover, penned by Chris White. Scott weaves his usual LF magic on this cover, and it remains faithful to the original arrangement. “(Kind Of) In Love” is another winning tune, with some great vocals from Scott and nifty guitar work. The band also covers “I Think I See The Light” by Cat Stevens. It is done in fine baroque pop fashion, and reveals once again what a fine keyboard player Anton is.

On to the bonus tracks, headed up by “Don’t Bother Me While I’m Living Forever”. I feel a waft of melancholy as I contrast this title with Scott’s suicide. It’s one of his best songs here, as fine an example of atmospheric indie pop as I’ve heard lately. I hear glimmers of a Spirit influence here, with the odd keyboard washes from Anton. It veers to psychedelic noodling for a short space, before Scott comes back in with a very nice vocal. Spacey and very cool! “Third Eye” is written by Anton but Scott takes the main vocal. It is about Anton’s relationship with a girl named Sylvia, one that did not work out. There are two other versions of “(Kind Of) In Love”, one with Scott singing and a demo with Anton’s vocal. They are interesting from an archival perspective, but they do not match the finesse of the cut that made the record. “I Wanna Make You Come Just By Looking At Your Eye” sounds like something Ty Segall might put out. It is nothing like the other songs here, and despite the lascivious title, it is a cool psych jam. I also like “Just Gone (At Anton’s), another solid offering and one that makes me wonder why this was left off an album. The other demos are of interest, and Loud Family completists will want to possess this collection. A fine ending to the wonderful reissues of Game Theory and Loud Family releases from Omnivore Recordings.

Pick up the release over at Omnivore Recordings.