The Sea and Cake: COD/SD etc. etc.

Ha, a friend e-mailed me about that this morning. I'm sure they're getting paid. Sam Prekop wrote an original song for a Target commercial a few years ago.

I heard an album by these blokes. it was alright but I don't think they write very good songs

New album 'Runner' (number ten apparently!) is out in September on Thrill Jockey. I'm not familiar with their previous albums, but have really got to like this one in the past week...

http://www.thrilljockey.com/assets/covers/105605.jpg

Has anyone who knows the previous albums heard it? How might it compare?

Ooh I hadn't heard there was a new one, thanks for the tip. I kind of feel like their last few albums have appealed to me mostly as comfort music, but ain't nothing wrong with that.

Theyve been gradually moving into less comfy, chilled grounds into some sort of rock-pop with a retro pastiche. His singing voice seems like its aping Robert Smith at times imho, not necessarily a bad thing.

Only heard Harps off of this so far and it sounds good, similar to what they were doing in Car Alarm but more straightforward in the rhythm section.

Also track 'an echo in' from the glass ep is one of my favorite of them and pretty similar to the last single in mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIqMAFplHJo

Is there a new single available?

Oops I meant Harps maybe not new single it made it into pitchforks best new tracks and I assumed they only reviewed singles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a5j2SzmtBg

Getting a Can "All Gates Open" vibe from that

these new songs are incredible! seriously great.

Uhhh. . . Runner is seriously their most well-rounded and best album since the Fawn.

And probably my favorite album of 2012.

you know I should really get off my ass and get a copy of this

same here - loving the "single"(?)

new one is great, but they all are. looking forward to seeing them live in a few weeks.

they were great last night. played a lot of the new album (on and on, harps, and the runner are seriously up there with their best ever songs) plus jacking the ball, the argument and an excellent extended jam on station in the valley (i think; it was something from the biz). no eric claridge though, doug mccombs filled in, not sure why.

"Transparent," the last track on Everybody, is so serene

Everybody is totally underrated. I get why, since it's pretty low-key (obviously), came 4 years after their weakest record (to that point), and was released 6 years or so after the "post-rock" moment officially passed. But along with The Moonlight Butterfly, it's probably their strongest post-Oui work.

Only time I saw them was on the Everybody tour and they were totally brilliant. They didn't play 'Lightning' though — no matter how much I screamed or it.

Their bassist is amazing to watch.

Oooh man, I used to really love these guys. I'd have to give it another listen but I recall One Bedroom being one of my favorites; to me it felt much more solid than The Fawn which tailed off after the brilliant opening 1-2 punch. I guess it's been like 8-9 years since I was really listening to those albums a lot.

I actually saw them for the first time on the last tour, when Doug McCombs filled in. I had no idea Eric Claridge was amazing to watch.

Kind of wish they made more records with bass parts as prominent as the ones on The Fawn. I love some of the basslines on that one.

Yeah I saw Eric play. I just thought he was impressive! It could just be that the basslines themselves are impressive.

I always liked how that record had a loud bass sound that was more akin to electronica than the sort of jazzy soft-rock they actually do. Similar to how The Biz had all these funky, frantic drum rhythms that would almost pass you by on the first couple of listens.

man, runner really is great

It was my AOTY for 2012. Too bad they kind of painted themselves into a corner with Oui/One Bedroom/Everybody because people stopped taking notice of how well-rounded their became by the time Runner came out.

*how well-rounded their ALBUMS became

And, they could really do with a rarities album.

Love these guys, but Runner felt pretty bland to me; I think it was a real step down after The Moonlight Butterfly EP.

Honestly I think people stopped taking notice of them because they were a veteran band that released their weakest album then went on a 4-year, hiatus, during which their scene (Chicago post-rock/Thrill Jockey) fell out of fashion. Which is a shame, because Everybody is an outstanding record, probably the most underrated in their catalog.

Ha, scrolling upward I realized I posted nearly the exact same thing one year ago to the date. oops

leave it alone and i'll be on your side

I have a special place for Everybody because it was the first tour that I saw them live. It's definitely a back to basics guitar-bass-drums record after the electronic experiments on One Bedroom/Glass, but the songs are so very great. 'Coconut' and 'Left On' were scorchers live; those two tunes in particular had picked up a lot of speed by the time I saw them, and man, did they cook.

I still really like One Bedroom

Got One Bedroom and saw them on that tour - satisfying buty never really felt the nedd to pick up anything else.

One Bedroom, I would say, is their "worst" album. I put it in quotes because it's still a good record, but I agree that it leaves something to be desired.

Sam Prekop & Archer Prewitt live session coming up at 11am (central) on chirpradio.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bLmEyjZig

Nice, they are playing stuff from the first Prekop solo album.

Full session's posted here:
https://soundcloud.com/chirpradio/sets/chirp-factory-session-003

Sam finally starting to show some age; still playing that gorgeous candy apple red Tele. Awesome.

ty John

I saw Sam playing modular synth with Brokeback a couple months back it was cool

I really hated his last two modular albums but really respect him for early and mid period The Sea and Cake (their last four albums are a dissapointment for me).

I'm curious if any other TSaC fans feel this same way as me. They were my favorite band at one point in college.

Nah, Runner is as good as anything that came before it.

The Once-ler OTM

Full video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ4Pao9qhMc

I definitely know people who invested a lot in those first 5 or so Sea & Cake records that had trouble staying on board, but honestly I can't find much fault with any of them. The band is so good at doing what it does, and the inherent nature of the music is "pleasant, well played, and well written", so it just all works for me. Sure, the first run was really exciting in a way that most bands can't sustain over a 15 year period no matter who they are, but shit I am glad they kept making records, there are great moments on all of them.

Also, I don't understand being angry at modular synth records. They are just kind of there if you want them, which most people don't. I don't think he was trying to court folks who dug his first solo record with them though, which sure if that is what someone wants from Sam those records are not going to deliver at all.

I never knew there was such an allegiance to those first five albums before I started reading this forum.

I definitely wish Sam would make another album along the lines of his self-titled/Who's Your New Professor, but I certainly haven't been disappointed by Old Punch Card and the Republic, just because they were so direction shifting.

Yeah, I was disappointed for totally different reasons

Do tell.

I'm pretty indifferent to self-titled and WYNP. I'm way more into Archer's solo stuff. Sam's synth albums just sound flat and lifeless to me.