Athens Blur Magazine

I like the metaphor of a band as a sandwich.  When you think about it, what is a sandwich?  Much like a song, or most definitely like a record, it’s a blank canvas of creative possibilities.  Combine all the bread, core and topping possibilities, and you don’t have to eat the same sandwich twice for a very long time.  Specifically, the metaphor works for this quartet of Athens youngsters, releasing their self-titled debut on Mule Train Records.  Like our endless sandwich combinations, the band runs the musical gamut in the confines of this 34-minute release, smoothly mixing styles on a winding road of peaks and valleys that never fails to entertain.  The virus that tends to kill “jam” bands is the noodling effect – jams that become four musicians doing four things on top of each other, akin to multiple conversations crammed in close confines, turning clear speech into little more than an unintelligible drone.  The antibody for such an affliction is subtlety and placement, and The Incredible Sandwich is a shining example.  They can play, no doubt.  That’s evident within the first minutes of any track on the EP.  What’s more impressive is the band’s collective knowledge of what not to play or, at the very least, knowing when not to overplay.  Much like a Miles Davis jazz record, or (if you like local examples), a Davis Causey guitar solo for Randall Bramblett’s band, The Sandwich attacks with a subtle dynamic that showcases musicianship and intelligence, separating them from a seemingly endless line of Teva-wearing, river-side Frisbee tossing jam rock.

- Alec Wooden, Executive Editor

Issue 8: June 2009
Athens Blur Magazine

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