“True Northwest originals, Washington State string swing ensemble Hot Club Sandwich has cooked up a delightful batch of new tunes… They let the music be their guide as they adopt their own interpretation of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s pursuit of honest, adventurous improvisation while embracing musical forms from around the world… For this, their fifth album, they invited longtime friend David Grisman to produce and the result is a record that stirs the musical pot with dynamic instrumental interplay.” — Tara Joan, No Depression
“The Fretboard Journal is pleased to premiere Hot Club Sandwich’s new album No Pressure. The album will be released February 16, 2018 on David Grisman’s Acoustic Oasis label. Hot Club Sandwich are true Pacific Northwest originals and, for this album, they’ve cooked up an eclectic collection of songs that pairs jazz manouche with a bolero romantico, or follows a Hoagy Carmichael song with a Peruvian waltz from the same era.” — FJ Staff
“Hot jazz, ‘St. James Infirmary,’ a cameo from David Grisman… this album pretty much has all of our favorite things.” — FJ Staff
“Swing grooves, lyrical interplay and string harmonies characterize Hot Club Sandwich’s fifth album, No Pressure… Besides band members being stellar instrumentalists, several compose, arrange and sing too. This album has many highlights.”
“A club sandwich has many layers of delicious ingredients, and this hot jazz band certainly does too.” – Joe Ross, Roots Music Report
“This band, this album, and this track are all swing. Hot Club’s mandolinist Matt Sircely and Dawg himself, the writer of “Swang Thang” and the album’s producer/advice guru, twin the tune’s bouncy, whimsical, jovial head and swap licks with each other during the solo sections. Listeners may feel a sudden urge to run away to the countryside in France, or to sip wine or snooty coffee at a street side café, or watch an indie movie or Fiat/Vespa car chase after a dose of this swang. It’s a pleasure to hear Dawg do what he does best with this Washington-based string outfit that’s been carrying the swing banner for going on two decades.” — Justin Hiltner, The Bluegrass Situation
“Hot Club Sandwich is a string band made up of some of the most consummate musicians in the Pacific Northwest. Its members take pride in their knowledge of the great jazz and orchestral movements that spread across nationwide, alongside their more local musical history.” — Jonathan Frahm, PopMatters
“A dynamic stand-up bass bellows throughout and surges in the sprightly instrumental “Swang Thing,” that features David Grisman on mandolin… Songwriter Ray Wood has been around the barn a few times in his musical career but this is his first time as a lead vocalist…The retro guitar sound – no need for medication if you want to feel good — and this kind of music has its own medicinal magic. 75-year-old Ray’s warm vocal lends authenticity and his jazz guitar background digs deep and seems to wind around seamlessly.” — John Apice, No Depression
