The Brighton lads are back with yet another blistering single.  Barbara’s latest – Mein Fräulein – is their most sophisticated, most eccentric and most refreshingly unpredictable offering yet.

Release Date:  15th March 2024

Label: Self Release

Formats: Digital

We’ve said it before and there’s no doubt whatsoever, we’ll say it again; every time that Barbara – the Brighton band led by brothers John and Henry Tydeman who have established themselves as firm At The Barrier favourites – release a new song, it surpasses every expectation.  And, without question, the band’s newest single, Mein Fräulein, continues that trend.  Barbara themselves consider that the song is, perhaps, “…a little more wild, strange and unpredictable than anything we’ve released before” and consider that the song might just be their “most eccentric effort yet.”  I’d agree with that, and I’d also suggest that it’s their most sophisticated offering so far, too.  Barbara are surely one of the most refreshingly unpredictable and endearingly eccentric bands around.

Progress has been steady and relentless in Barbara World, ever since we were first thrilled down to our wellies by the band’s April 2022 mini-album, Mildly Entertaining. The band’s highly-crafted canon has been stealthily enhanced by a regular diet of excellent singles: Waiting Outside Alone(November 2022), Enduring Love (March 2023), Pretty Straight Guy (May 2023) and, most recently, Master Narrative (November 2023) – each song seemingly pushing the Barbara envelope just a tad further. And now, here comes another; Mein Fräulein might just be the song that Barbara decide will be the final ingredient for their – surely inevitable – debut album.

They’re right on top of their game here, that’s for sure.  John Tydeman channels 10cc’s Lol Creme in a marvelous vocal delivery that might just be his best yet and the band – Henry Tydeman on keyboards and backing vocals, Jack Hosgood on bass, Lawrie Miller on drums and Dean Llewellyn on guitars are as tight and punchy as ever.  And producer Paul Steel has really pulled out all the stops this time to achieve a glorious 1930s ambience, decorated with some glittering horn and string arrangements.

The song opens with an attention-grabbing drum roll that recalls the comic strutting of Max Wall’s Professor Wallofski character, before settling into a tune that alternates between full-on bandplay and Charleston-esque quieter interludes.  The sleazy sax parts are the perfect match for the flapper-girl subject matter of the lyrics and the crackly piano playout is the perfect fit for all the 1930s imagery.

As we’ve come to expect from Barbara, the lyrics are fast-flowing and fascinating, making repeated listens not just a luxury, but more of a necessity, as John references glasses of German wine, Gauloises cigarettes, lederhosen, cottages in the Côte D’Azur and much, much more as he tells the story of our Fräulein (with her lovely little frown lines).  Barbara cite The Beach Boys, 10cc and The Lemon Twigs as influences and they’re all clearly detectable, especially (at least according to my perception) 10cc around their How Dare You period but, as always, Barbara add so much of their own unique presence to the song that there’s no derivation here – just innovation.

Mein Fräulein is yet another major step forward in the development of Barbara – another great song, a fantastic lyric video and, perhaps(?) the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle to complete that long (and eagerly) awaited debut full-length album?  We can only hope…

Mein Fräulein is available now via Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon or Pandora and you can listen to a snatch of the song and order your copy here.

And, if you’re in the Brighton area this week, why not pop down to Chalk in Pool Valley, just opposite the Palace Pier on Friday 22^nd March, where the guys will be opening for The Lottery Winners.  Make sure you get there early though – Barbara will be hitting the stage at 7:15pm!

By the way… there’s only a couple of weeks to go before THAT sellout tour with Paul Weller kicks off.  A game-changer for Barbara?  We certainly hope so – good luck, guys!

You can watch the wonderful, Pythonesque lyric video to Mein Fräulein here:

Barbara online: Website / Facebook  / Twitter  / Instagram  / TikTok / YouTube

Keep up with At The Barrier: Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Spotify / YouTube