Brooklynite and captain of the Hairs, Kevin Alvir ups his game on the colorful While I Hated Life, Barbarian. Since 2011, Alvir and his handful of collaborators have churned out a profusion of lo-fi freak-pop releases under the Hairs' banner, citing the D.I.Y. influence of Calvin Johnson's K Records, underground comics, alternative comedy, and the Kiwi pop of New Zealand's Flying Nun label. Bearing a wry sense of humor and knack for simplistic but tuneful pop, Alvir's music has so far arrived in bite-sized EPs and singles whose low production value belies their solid craftsmanship. Released in 2016 by Midwestern indie Old Flame Records, Barbarian is a full-length, 12-track LP that sees the Hairs tumbling upward out of the lo-fi cradle into something a bit more robust. His self-described tag of "Woody Allen meets Syd Barrett" isn't really that far off the mark on tracks like "Tiny Tim Burton" and the excellent opener "Barbarians." His mix of nervy, nerdy, and indie cool hits the mark more often than not, and there's a warm undercurrent of vulnerability in many of the songs, especially the jangle pop of "Speck of Dust That Loved You" and "What Me Worry?" The Hairs' slightly bent guitar pop isn't necessarily groundbreaking, but Alvir definitely has a distinctive take on life, and his offbeat musings resonate within their pleasantly ramshackle frames. That he can push songs named "Bologne Cologne" and "Nude Cruise" beyond mere novelty is a testament to his abilities on what is easily the best Hairs effort to date.