Sandy's' "I and I"

Sandy's new EP Chime is a gorgeous ooze of surf'n'turf rock; choosing a track to write about proved about as difficult as picking a single member of the trump Administration to attach to the caboose of a human centipede.* Also, their bio says they sound like "Big Star in Big Sur," and I wish I'd written that.

"I and I," what a track. Frankly, I'm pretty sick of bands writing songs about smart phone addiction as if it's some poignant social commentary. But there's something about the Steve Zissou magic vibes here that set this one apart, and make me want to toss my own SE into Lake Merritt. Also, I kind of want to do that anyway because even though I got a good deal on it it's just too small and that means lots of typos. I hate it. But it's quirky, too, like having a flip phone that you can still use to call a cab, listen to Bill Callahan or look at the contents of various pornographic websites.

"I and I" is just sumptuous, like eating a merengue when you're baked. Or a flan. It's got that great Grateful Dead dingly-dong guitar goin' on, but even that sweetness is no match for Alexi Glickman's vocals, each word spilling out like caramel ooze from a bread pudding in slow motion. "It's crazy but my phone keeps taking me away from you, I forget how to live in Saturday," he sings in the chorus; just writing the words makes me woozy.  The title "I and I" might be an allusion to #21stCenturyNarcissism (or just loneliness) but the song radiates an empathy that makes it about all of us.










* Stephen Miller FTW