Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop - Listening

Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop


Download: Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop - "Henry And The Horse"
Download: Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop - "Larlie"
Download: Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop - "VIP Room"

Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop
Listening (The Roydale Recording Company / IODA, 2007)
Grade: B+

Let's Get Out Of This Terrible Sandwich Shop are a Chicago quartet whose members each have extensive training in improvisational comedy. Though they describe themselves as an "indie-pop goof-rock band", if you take a, uh, listen to their first full-length album, Listening, you'll find some seriously catchy and surprisingly well-crafted tunes.

Listening consists of 15 tracks, each crafted with the kind of charmingly nerdy idiosyncrasies of groups like They Might Be Giants and Best Friends Forever. "Larlie" is the song that I haven't been able to get out of my head - and so, I keep listening to it over and over again. Ditto for "VIP Room" (a track with a hilariously goofy falsetto vocal), "Bionic Dolphin" and "Chattanooga Koo Koo".

Though the band's name suggests clever, witty music, there's also a dark undercurrent that makes its presence known throughout the album. The subject of "My Fucken Family" is pretty self-explanatory, and "Loved Song" is a sad, ukulele driven ditty about a broken relationship. Despite what the group's name might say, this is a sandwich shop worth visiting.

Listening won't be available in CD form until Nov. 6th, but you can download it now through iTunes

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(Jonathan Graef)