Track List:
1. Jacking the Ball (3:50)
2. Polio (5:24)
3. Bring My Car I Feel to Smash It (4:25)
4. Flat Lay the Water (4:51)
5. Choice Blanket (5:10)
6. Culabra Cut (3:02)
7. Bombay (3:59)
8. Showboat Angel (4:37)
9. So Long to the Captain (5:04)
10. Lost in Autumn (4:37)
Players:
Sam Prekop – vocals, guitar
Eric Claridge – bass
John McEntire – drums
Archer Prewitt – guitar
Recorded by Brad Wood (also sax, percussion, organ, backing vocals) at Idful Music, Chicago in 1993
Released by Thrill Jockey in 1994
In the early-1990s many journalists and other cultural commentators often used the word “slacker” to describe people who were born within a certain parameter of years and they latched on to it as if it could be as descriptive as the term “hippie”. There was of course a contemporary backlash to the word because, as everybody with a brain could see, the word was far too vague and anecdotal to describe a generation or even particular members of one. It got worse when the term was applied to musicians and artists. After all, is it fair to describe anybody who has the motivation to create art as a slacker? The philistines didn’t bother to think about that and they went ahead and erroneously called bands like The Sea and Cake “Slacker Rock”. I suppose their justification was that they were hearing a stylistic looseness that was not previously popular even among the “alternative” acts. While The Sea and Cake certainly did make music that has a lazy swing, it was anything but slack. In fact, they were one of the tightest bands around.
In the beginning, The Sea and Cake was a bunch of art students who also played music. Prekop, Claridge, (and producer Brad Wood) played together in Shrimp Boat while Prewitt was playing lounge music in The Coctails. They got together and recruited drum wunderkind McEntire to form one of my favorite bands of the whole mislabeled slacker era. I could be mistaken but I remember reading that the band got together to record their self titled album just for fun without clear intentions to continue making music together. But the result was too good to ignore so they never stopped. That may be a bit of mythology but I like it because it explains the pure joy that is expressed in their first album. Like all members of the Squirrel Bait family, they seemed to approach their music with nothing but the urge to create which I like to believe is a recipe for success and fulfillment. It won’t guarantee any financial rewards but, as everybody knows, music that is made for a paycheck is highly likely to suck. So The Sea and Cake simply went at it – and it was good.
It’s difficult to describe the band on a less than holistic level because while each member’s contribution is essential, the overall result is something far bigger than each of them and it is the blend that is important. That’s not to say that each part of the whole is impossible or even imprudent to describe because all of these guys are quite talented. Prekop’s voice is the most instantly notable aspect and the most confounding. He does the usual melody-making that most singers do but somehow he always keeps a tight cap on the energy level and this is certainly the biggest reason that The Sea and Cake were called slackers. I hate to describe a singer with mentions of other singers but…Prekop sounds to me like Stephen Malkmus tempered by Lou Reed. That is, Prekop’s voice soars into falsetto and also descends into monotony but it always stays melodic and low-key like a proper lounge singer. I can’t tell if Prekop sets the energy level with his voice or if he matches the band but, in any case, his voice blends in perfectly and also stands out strongly. He switches between mumbling and soulful crooning throughout the album and unlike a lot of his 90s peers he also stays on key. Prekop also plays guitar next to Prewitt and together they form a precise but hazy backdrop to the vocals. The atmosphere is usually reminiscent of a smoky jazz lounge as the guitars use soft tones and plenty of arpeggios to relax your soul and provide a cushy retro sofa for your reclination. The combination of Prekop and Prewitt is an excellent one but the band would go nowhere without its rhythm section. Claridge and McEntire drive the songs forward with rare precision. The rhythms of this album are exhibit A of why anybody who ever called this band “slack” is ignorant. McEntire takes control of the steering wheel throughout the album and shows off a side of his playing that got lost in his other bands (Bastro, Gastr Del Sol, Tortoise).
The Sea and Cake is where he gets to let his machine-like ability shine with jazzy, poppy beats.
Here is where I'm tempted go into detail about each song on the album. I have done that before on this thread because I feel that the albums I am reviewing are valuable as whole albums and that each song is a significant part.
The Sea and Cake is no different but the songs don’t need to be described singly because they flow together so evenly. It’s better just to say that the album has two poles; one is the upbeat pop of songs like 'Jacking the Ball' and 'Flat Lay the Water' and the other is the expansive almost traditional soulful jazz on songs like 'Culabra Cut' and 'Lost in Autumn'. The band wanders between the contrasts over the course of the album.
Interestingly, the band members are also visual artists. Prewitt and Prekop are involved in the world of independent comics (Prewitt also worked for Marvel at one point) and Claridge is a successful painter (his painting of Charles Mingus is printed on the album insert). So The Sea and Cake is truly an art band. That’s not to say that their music sounds bizarre or experimental and, in fact, it is very accessible. The album was clearly made by skilled artists who like to color inside the lines. Slack my ass.
8.7/10
Jacking the Ball
Flat Lay the Water
Culabra Cut