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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

Flicker Of Time reviews:

HARP MAGAZINE.

BLOG CRITICS MAGAZINE.

HABLO ENNUI blog.

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.