HERE IS THE VIDEO FOR THE FIRST SINGLE FROM THE "GALLERY" ALBUM, "CARTOON SAFE"
BREAKING NEWS!!
Steve Barton has signed a recording contract with Spectra Records! That's right, the next album ("Gallery") by Steve Barton And The Oblivion Click is now available! We are extremely happy and excited about this! Our first tour is coming up.
NEW TRANSLATOR RELEASE: THE ALMACANTAR RECORDS RELEASE OF "DIFFERENT TIME" IS NOW AVAILABLE!! HAND-PICKED BY THE BAND, THIS 2-CD SET IS FULL OF OUTTAKES, DEMOS AND LIVE TRACKS. Click here to order
THE CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL:
The third solo release from the former singer/guitarist of San Francisco New Wave-poppers Translator is another disc filled with gritty, Beatlesque pop gems -- and a few surprises. For a guy who's been in the biz for nearly three decades, Barton has a deep cache of ideas. "Cartoon Safe" opens with a driving, toe-tapping groove, a "Revolver" sound and rapid-fire lyrics. Whether he's singing about an apprehended voyeur ("Peeping Tom") or memories of an amusement park ("Beverly Park"), there's a fresh energy that permeates the entire disc. Rockers like "You Make Me Smile as Big as I Can" are obvious centerpieces.
For our critically acclaimed album, "Charm Offensive":
MOJO MAGAZINE gives it Three Stars.
THE LONDON TIMES: It has taken more than three decades, but the sense of reverence that has prevented bands from covering Beatles songs successfully seems to be wearing off... Steve Barton takes "She's Leaving Home" by the scruff of the neck and subjects it to a brutal, brilliant power-pop reinvention. Barton, once of Translator, lives in a musical world book-ended by what Americans would call "British invasion" and new wave. "Bertha Jane" is the Beatles in Hamburg, "Shy" is Freddie and the Dreamers with Richard Thompson on guitar (an alarming thought, but it works), "Kiss This" is the Attractions in 1978, and "Tina Finds the Silences" is a hyper tribute to the Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth that Franz Ferdinand fans should love. Pastiche, perhaps, but Barton does it all superbly. One of the year's unexpected delights.
THE BOSTON PHOENIX raves about "the high level of playing and songwriting".
And be sure to check out Steve's debut solo album, "The Boy Who Rode His Bike Around The World". It includes the single "Pop Star Shine" heard on The Chris Isaacs Show. Here's what All Music Guide had to say about the release.
AMPLIFIER MAGAZINE:
I discoverd a new favorite songwriter and performer. Strange and disturbing guitar sounds "play the role of a flipped-out soul" all through this record. Flamenco-beat drums (Dave Scheff of Translator) drive "Cuban Heel Boots". "I Want To Go To Hell With You" is a downbeat love song that might have come from Richard Thompson. Every song ventures into different and sometimes uncharted musical terrritory. This is not safe pop music.
As a founding member, Steve Barton delighted critics and fans alike by consistently creating songs that not only embraced the excitement of classic pop, but also managed to shine a light on the future. Their debut single on 415/Columbia Records, the now classic and ridiculously catchy Everywhere That Im Not, started a run of great singles and four remarkable albums. National tours included bills with R.E.M., Gang Of Four, Psychedelic Furs, B52s and David Bowie. After seven years, the band finally called it a day.
For Barton, the years that followed the breakup included intensive writing, both alone and with performers such as John Wesley Harding (their collaboration, Summer Single, can be found on Hardings Pett Levels CD), playing guitar for hire, and joining with Translator for several reunion gigs (including a highly successful series of shows at the 2006 South By Southwest fest in Austin). In 2000, he released his striking solo debut CD The Boy Who Rode His Bike Around The World, and in 2005 the aforementioned Charm Offensive.
TRANSLATOR NEWS!
All four of the original Translator albums were released for the first time ever on CD in early 2007 on Wounded Bird Records. "Different Time", a brand new double-CD set of outtakes, demos and live tracks hand-picked by the band, is now available from Almacantar Records.Evangeline Records in the UK has just released a 2-disc Translator anthology called Translator Collection, as well. Whew! All of these can be found on Amazon.
Good news! The brand new powerpopcompilation "Souvenirs" is being released this week! It contains 21 great North American powerpop tracks from 1975-95. You can hear three of the songs that just have been uploaded on our Myspage page. The CD also contains a previously unreleased song by the great Canadian band Pointed Sticks recorded in the late 70..s. It is availabe from Not Lame Records and Kool Kat Musik, and it will very soon be available from CD Baby.
You did a wonderful job with "We Can Only Win" on the "A Few Uneven Rhymes" tribute, and we're pleased to be sharing album time with you! --Tony from Jack Brag
Tune in to 90.5 The NIGHT (90.5 FM in central NJ or 90. 5thenight. org on the interweb) around 1:30pm ET Tuesday December 16 to hear an interview album producers Jeff Raspe and Keith Roth (with special guest Michael Carlucci of Winter Hours). We'll be premiering a number of the tracks from A Few Uneven Rhymes and talking about the album. Then tune in again later at 11pm to hear Jeff play some tracks on the new music program "Fresh Tracks. "
The cover for "A Few Uneven Rhymes: A Tribute to Winter Hours" is now up! It's our new default pic.
Two medleys of music samples are now up in the player! They are in the same sequence that the album is in. See if you can figure out who's playing what, cuz I'm not telling yet!
Info on the first record release party announced too (except who's performing)!
Hi Steve- had a little knee surgery so been listening to the music and wanted to say it sounds great...come back and play with Larry again ..we miss ya ! babs
