Given the state of the music recording industry, it’s a treat to discover a release which seems to celebrate the sheer joy of making music. At first blush (and 4 releases in), you might not know what to make of Endrick Tremblay and his loyal, long-time Sandwiches: Simon Éthier (bass, piano, backing vocals), Mandela Coupal-Dalgleish (drums), Greg McEvoy electric/acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Anne Lauziére (acoustic guitar, backing vocals) and Marie-Pier Lavallée (backing vocals). Their lineup has remained consistent since they launched their self-titled debut in ’18. As a result, you are quick to appreciate accomplished musicianship with a distinctively polished sound – and that’s before the first song has even finished.

If this was a band you planned on seeing play live, you might never know what to expect – therein lies their arme secrète. However, what you can expect is absolute musical creativity, unbridled energy and enthusiasm, unrivalled originality and an outlandish good time.

And good luck trying to pigeonhole this troupe. Their influences seem all over the map yet, to their credit, they sound like nobody you’ve ever heard before. Take the dynamic first track, “Kill Ma Mo”, which – lyrically – might sound to have more in common with Sesame Street than it does anything you might have predicted. Coupal-Dalgleish’s contagiously perky drumbeat (the consistent, propulsive element behind many of these songs) is bracketed by guitar, sensational keyboards and sturdy backup vocals. The song is so progressively potent, its meaning is irrelevant. It’s simply fun in a bottle. Endrick – who plays multiple instruments (organ, Rhodes, harmonica, mandolin, acoustic/electric/slide guitars) beyond lead vocals – conjures images of Fee Waybill, if not Frank Zappa, given his obvious dedication to all things quirky. 

At the same time, Straight Up is thoroughly musical, its eleven songs covering a lot of turf. The equally unconventional “Check Engine Oil” is given another organ/guitar underbelly as Endrick’s vocal isn’t far removed from something out of David Byrne’s canon, its double backup vocal adding a significant twist and sounding almost innocently child-like at times, up to and including its abrupt ending.

Without question, blues is at the core of much of their work, evidenced by “Mortgage Blues”. Bass and drums animate Endrick’s almost whisper-like falsetto as acoustic and electric guitar spice up a sarcastic tale of fighting the urge to fall into line, succumbing to a monkey-see/monkey-do world, his vocal buttressed by those deft backup vocalists.

The lightning-fired, organ and drum-driven “Careful What You Wish For” instantly conjures another strong band influence. Endrick’s exceptional Lou Reed-esque treatment makes this track one of the best – revved up in twisted tribute to The Velvet Underground’s “Rock & Roll” while piercing stabs of organ, stinging guitar and delicious backup “Ooh-la-la’s” lift this skyward in joyous fashion.

Where next? A quick left turn featuring harmonica and acoustic guitar, “Rocker’s Blinkers” is another noteworthy track as Endrick sing-talks his way through what is otherwise a strong, hook-laden song, again demonstrating the strengths of McEvoy’s guitar, Coupal-Dalgleish’s crisp percussion, Endrick’s organ work with yet another variation on his vocal strengths, further sweetened by the two backup singers. You’ll wish this song could continue.

The deceptively seductive “Rattling Bomb”lopes along like a cowboy ditty, Endrick sing-talking as the band builds in intensity – eventually altering its time signature to transform itself into what could easily be hit-single-material, before – again – returning to its earlier, C&W-flavoured pace. Each player shines – bass, especially as well as the ever-present backup singers as the song time shifts its way into yet another favourite. 

The simplistic acoustic guitar intro to “And The Curtain Falls” gives way to the ultimate on-the-road song, just begging to be whistled. Its jaunty gait has that ‘J.J. Cale feel’ yet Endricks’ rich vocal (and those singers!) quickly convert it into an upbeat, feel-good shuffle offering more in common with the Dead than anything exported from Tulsa.

Little might prepare you for the light-hearted, whimsical take of “Tex Avery Wolf” – giving the band an opportunity to stretch, musically, with McEvoy’s guitar taking on the lion’s share of the song’s personality, pulsed by Coupal-Dalgleish’s ever-steady drumbeats and three stand-out vocalists.

A sturdy hint of Spanish guitar intro’s “Streets Of Thought”, peeling back yet another onion-layer of promise, yet the song ends at :40 – somewhat surprisingly as it was certainly going somewhere new and tasteful. At the same time, it proves a great set-up to “Before Heaven” – a down ’n’ dirty, bass-heavy boogie recalling everyone from Canned Heat to ZZ Top. At the same time, the humour suggests Zappa as Endrick sings of youthful lust and packing as much into life as is possible, accented by stinging guitar notes, a warm, driving bass and a rhythmic pulse which could easily go for days. Getting one’s kicks ‘before they get to Heaven’ – a universal theme – now has its anthem. “Before Heaven” would be a crowd-pleaser live as it buds, blossoms and propels itself along…clearly a song with the longest legs for a band born of a strong, esoteric streak.

Closing on the comparably folkish “Hornby Island”, it seems a love song dedicated to a favourite place with exquisite acoustic guitar, standout bass and these three exceptional vocalists. Given their devotion to time changes, the song evolves into a more rocking, near-epic composition, underlined by powerful instrumentation. Ending here only goes to demonstrate how many coloured pencils this band carries in its pencil case. Endrick & The Sandwiches are a novel offering – true music explorers in a world of clones and wannabes. Step into this brave new world and fire up an endless party which is just waiting to happen. (Eric Thom)