Our Toast

Legendary local weirdo folk: The Sandwitches' last album. (At least, for now-- let's hope not forever). SF trio, three women who've been together for the better part of the last decade, putting out wonderful music that defies definition-- spooky folk, harmonizing mood yodeling, etc, etc-- They've been involved with Sonny and the Sunsets, Thee Oh Sees, the Fresh & Onlys, and have been putting out side-projects, such as Grace Cooper's Grace Sings Sludge. I love this band-- otherworldly and behind such beautiful sounds. Really sad to hear they're breaking up, and this will be their last..

1. (3:18) ** Spunky rinky-piano sing-along, minor tune, but cute. If you're looking for a cutesy sing-along with sunny, sunny air-- it's perfect for you.
2. (5:23) *** Slow, guitar noodling into straightforward beat. Twanged vox, galloping and yodelling, sound like she's out getting ready for the hunt. Steady and haunting.
3. (6:15) ******* (!!!!!) Slow, frail, heartbreaking, but goes so many places. Weird repetitions, crazy bridges, alternatively sweet and dirgey, this is the Sandwitches at their best. So so so great and weird. Skeletal instrumentation, tenuous rhythms, sporadic harmonizations, gradual build.
4. (8:21) **** Slow, hazy, vox through curtains. Guitar picking is lazy, hypnotic. Harmonizations go more and more etheral, playing against increasingly weird (warpy sounds like ripples on water) backing. Deeply intense, drives ahead and ahead on '70s-posh piano tinkling and deep sadness of vox.
5. (5:13) ***** Slow, intense harmonizing -- urgent folk sob buried in murk of production. "ooh" and "ooh" til eternity, just intense and slow as hell.
6. (4:36) *** [FCC: shit] Sporadic drumming, slow roughened folkiness-- earthy and sweet. "Laa laa laa"s for a while, then weird flute + harpsichord sounds to close.
7. (5:10) ***** Brisker, shakier-- warbly harmonizing in a folk nightmare, sweet but spooky, with moments of doom. It builds and builds, becoming aggressive and loud. Wow-
8. (6:25) ********* (!!!!!!!) Brisk country tune! Weird and catchy and beautiful and frail-- its yodels and yelps jump from register to register-- and it goes on and on, through several false endings and tempo changes. (!!!)
9. (3:54) **** Elegant, midtempo-- falls into pool of warped production and fades away--