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| The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau - What If It Works? |
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| Written by Glen Sarvady | |
 The Loud Family and Anton BarbeauWhat If It Works? [125 Records] Get It at Amazon  Scott Miller remains the overlooked pop visionary of the genre's mid-'80s/mid-'90s salad days. I chided friends with a "someday you'll realize he's the most unique talent since Chilton" harangue near the end of his Game Theory period, but have to admit the statute of limitations has lapsed. Miller himself has largely taken his ball and gone home, his once prolific output slowed to a dribble. What If It Works?, the Loud Family's first foray since 2000's listless Attractive Nuisance, marks an appealing yet teasingly slight return. To cobble together a full-length Miller enlists kindred spirit Anton Barbeau, a more willfully eccentric Californian (think Andy Partridge before he discovered orchestration). One of those home-recording souls in dire need on an editor, Barbeau's own catalog sprinkles its share of gems amid a deluge of undercooked ideas. The pair splits songwriting credits down the middle for this effort, and the forced culling establishes the younger Barbeau as Miller's equal at this juncture. What If It Works? opens with a daring gambit - a cover of "Rocks Off" that wrings every ounce of machismo from the Stones classic, recasting it as a gangly indie pop joyride in the vein of Game Theory's new wavey bursts or a more guitar-oriented spin on '80s scene cohorts the Three O'Clock. Miller follows with "Song About ‘Rocks Off'," eschewing melodic similarities but obliquely addressing the original's lyrics, most directly the notorious "pirouette" bit. It's the sort of heady excursion that made Miller a player (and that made Game Theory's 1987 Lolita Nation and the Loud Family's 1996 Interbabe Concern true landmarks), but later covers of Cat Stevens' "I Think I See the Light" and the Zombies' "Remember You" are less adventurous, like much of WiiW settling for comfortable rehash. An air of bitterness surfaces when Miller (whose shot at retro riches has been hampered by two of the era's uglier indie label flameouts) grouses, "The fanzines rave, but I can't see it paying no bills." But it's Barbeau who unleashes the disc's best zinger on the standout "Pop Song 99" when he proclaims, "The problem with the kids today is that they don't care about magic." Despite the bellyaching both men end on positive notes. The new contribution to a Best of Scott Miller mixtape is "Mavis of Maybelline Towers," an effervescent jangle on the joys of marriage and new parenthood that likely holds clues to his semi-retirement. Barbeau's touching title track is an outsider's doe-eyed view of similar terrain, a forlorn hope for something "as close to forever as two freaks should be allowed." It could apply to their careers as easily as romance, and it does work - everywhere but at the bank. |
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