The Sea and Cake: Simply Ahead of Their Time

New To Me

I first stumbled upon The Sea and Cake by accident. I was trying to find out what had happened to a band called Shrimp Boat that was a cult favorite of mine when I was living in Chicago in the late 1980's. Turns out Shrimp Boat's founder Sam Prekop and bass player Eric Claridge had formed The Sea and Cake in 1993 and had already released 3 albums by the time I caught up with them.

That was 12 years ago so "New To You" is really a relative term in this case. New in that, after a 4 year hiatus, the band has just released their 7th full length album which is arguably their best since their 1994 debut...and new in that they are still a relatively "underground" band which many people have never heard of.

Shrimp Boat was about as progressive a band as I had heard in the late 80's and Prekop's dry, slightly cooing vocals and afro jazz vibe carried over directly into S&C's first few albums. Just put on "Jacking the Ball"- the first track on their  first album- and you will be as hooked on this sound as I was.

While the band experimented over the years with various degrees of Prog Rock,Post Rock, Electronica and Jazz, the core of their sound has remained in tact and has in fact influenced much of today's best independent music from Explosions In The Sky, to Stereolab to Modest Mouse to red hot Vampire Weekend. In fact, I am gonna go so far as to say that The Sea and Cake , like Shrimp Boat before them, were just simply way ahead of their time. If these guys were in their 20's and their latest album Everybody was a debut effort, they'd be all the rage.

Vitals:

Band Members:

Eric Claridge (bass, synthesizer)
Archer Prewitt (guitar, piano, vocals)
Sam Prekop (vocals, guitar)
John McEntire (percussion, drums, some synthesizer)

Conceived:

In 1993 from the ashes of critics' darlings Shrimp Boat came Sam and Eric joined by Archer Prewitt from Kansas City lounge band The Cocktails and John McEntire from renowned instrumental group Tortoise.

Roots:

The band was formed in and has stayed in Chicago and increasingly functions as sort of a super group with all members working off and on in other bands and/or other solo creative projects  from art, to comic books or in the case of McEntire, as acclaimed music producer.

Sound & Sounds Like:

I put on my favorite S&C and instantly feel like I am eavesdropping on a very  improvisational but very tight rehearsal session. It all sounds effortless and no matter which direction the music goes, the jazz smokiness remains. Certain early songs have a downright edgy indie rock sound like "Bring My Car I Feel to Smash It", which could almost be mistaken for early Modest Mouse.

At the other end of the spectrum is almost a pure improvisational Jazz sound on songs like "Traditional Wax Coin" from the Glass Ep. But it is the sounds that fall in between that are the most associated with the band, using lots of synth, snare drums with some african guitar rhythms and a kick of funk. A song that perfectly captures this core sound is  "Lamonts Lament" from Nassau.

Their latest effort, Everybody, takes that core sound and turns it a bit upside down, leaving behind any programmed beats and replacing the  middle years "electronica" side of their vibe with a more organic, raw sound that crosses several musical genres. I can hear hints of early Boz Scaggs  on "Middlenight" and "Exact To Me" has such delicious nervous energy that it could almost be called a deconstructed dance tune, while "Up On Crutches" teeters on the edge of jam band roots rock.

If this sounds a bit  all over the map, it is, and that is what makes The Sea and Cake so deliriously good- they can zig and zag all over the musical landscape and tie it all together through Prekops's woozy vocals and dead perfect phrasing,never leaving out the breezy groove they are best known for.

Bar Talk:

The band's name stems from a humorous misunderstanding of the title of fellow Chicagoan's Gastrl Del Sol's song "The C In Cake".

Archer Prewitt is also the creator of the cult comic Sof' Boy.

The Sea And Cake have a unique way of working. Often, band members never hear the lyrics or Prekops vocals until the songs are ready to be mixed. In other words, they function more as an all instrumental band until the last minute, when Prekop's unique lryics and phrasing are added on top.

Essential:

1994's Debut Album The Sea and Cake is pure brilliance and a great place to start if you want to hear the remnants of Shrimp Boat morphing into what would become S&C. It is clearly an album that continues to influence many of today's rising indie stars.

1995's Nassau took the band in a slightly more jazz focused and highly eclectic direction. Heavy on the drums and have a very cool dark side, it is perhaps their most ambitious effort.

2007's Everybody is their most accessible record to date. Straightforward but not straight laced and filed with catchy, groove laden songs; it's a great place to start from and then work backwards if you are new to this band.

LINKS: Official Site