Sandy McKnight With Fernando Perdomo: “San Fernando Beat” (2020) CD Review

On his new release, San Fernando Beat, singer, bass player and songwriter Sandy McKnight teams up with Fernando Perdomo to deliver some excellent power pop tunes. This EP is nearly entirely the product of those two people, with an additional guitarist sitting in on a couple of tracks. Sandy McKnight is on vocals, bass, keys and acoustic guitar; Fernando Perdomo is on guitar, drums and keys. The disc was also produced by Sandy McKnight and Fernando Perdomo. This release features all original material, written by Sandy McKnight, some delicious and timely music to lift your spirits, songs with good lyrics, and a vocal delivery that might bring to mind the work of Elvis Costello.

The disc opens with “Facing The End Of The World,” a cheerful and seriously good pop song about the end of the world. In this one, Sandy sings, “It’s the end of the world, and I’m not even dressed,” a line that is absolutely spot-on. While most people work from home because of the pandemic, or are not working at all, who even bothers getting dressed anymore? If this is the end, what are your regrets? Sandy sings, “I wish I’d done lots more crazy stuff/‘Cause I don’t know what I want, but I want it right now.” Indeed. Well, perhaps it’s not too late. “I hope to god they’re just fooling around.” Yeah, I hope so too. It seems that we are all facing the end of the world, or at least the end of democracy, the end of this country. This song should help us all face it. Turn it up, pour yourself a drink and dance around while you watch the end. The Elvis Costello vibe is pretty strong on the second track, “Single Flowers,” a song that also has a bit of a 1960s sound to the guitar, a groovy bass line and some cool lyrics. “Simple creatures/Grow strange features/No one tells them/They can’t survive as they are.” Later he asks, “Won’t there be someone to save you?” Ah, who knows?

“Chloe’s Gone” tells the story of a relationship that ended in misunderstanding on the part of the guy. “But she liked to believe/One’s heart could not deceive/And so she had to leave her key/At first I laughed it off.” This song also includes the lines “I make believe I’m fine/Find ways to pass the time,” lyrics that we can take out of context and apply to our collective situation during this time of isolation. “The ticking of the clock is driving me crazy” is a line I appreciate. Ticking clocks drive me absolutely batty. “Chloe’s Gone” is followed by “Heart In Your Hands,” one of the tracks to feature additional guitar work by Mark McCarron, who has played on other releases from Sandy McKnight. This track has something of a more serious tone, and is a love song of sorts, a song about the difficulty he has in trusting in the good thing he has found. Clearly the pain of past relationships has caused him to approach this new one with skepticism. “I can’t help but being wary/All facts to the contrary/Not used to someone caring for me.” Then “Any Time Of Day,” the other track to feature Mark McCarron on guitar, comes in with a joyful burst. The song at first describes a glorious freedom, but seemingly a freedom that comes from being alone, opening with these lines: “Any time of day/Any time I want to/I do anything I want to/And it’ll be okay.” And then: “I can watch TV/Or listen to some music/I can always be occupied with choosing/Anything amusing.” But of course it is not long before he is reaching out, wanting someone to be a part of his day. “So if you want to be/A part of what I’m doing/You can reach out to me/Any time of day.” This one has a happy pop sound that includes hand-claps and a bit of a 1960s vibe.

The word “fake” is heard and printed a lot these days. And what does it mean to us at this point? “Everything is fake,” Sandy McKnight sings in “Fake,” and it feels that way at times, doesn’t it? And you get the feeling that was the intention, to make everything seem fake in order to keep people from trusting even the truth, to keep people from being able to recognize it, and to disengage people from the truth and from the reality around them. These are strange and unsettling times, to be sure, when journalists are disbelieved and misinformation is deliberately disseminated by the so-called leaders and gobbled up by their eager and mindless followers. “Looking for truths/Not any use/Watching fake news/From sources who/Bang the drum/Mystery cheese/Conspiracies.” Yes, there is certainly a bit of humor in the approach to the subject, which I appreciate. This EP began with the end of the world, and ends with the idea of it all being fake. Yet, the whole time you might find yourself smiling because the music has that great power pop sound, and the songs seem to unite us with the rest of those facing the end. At the end of this song, there is a great section where the vocals have more of a sense of urgency, with lines like “Elections are scams/No one gives a damn” and “Find eternal youth/No one tells the truth.”

CD Track List

1. Facing The End Of The World
2. Single Flowers
3. Chloe’s Gone
4. Heart In Your Hands
5. Any Time Of Day
6. Fake

San Fernando Beat was released in March, and is available on CD.