Car Alarm

The Sea and Cake | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• ASIN: B001E45SZS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,636 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Sea And Cake are one of the most beloved indie bands of the past decade.Their eighth full-length has the breezy, open, crisp sound the band has spent fifteen years crafting, but it also has a palpable edge. That's the edge of people who know each other well enough to push a bit harder, who aren't worried about ruffling feathers or trying something different, difficult, intuitive, trusting. This is the sound of a well-oiled band. A bracing record. LP comes with free MP3 download coupon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Familiar, but better, October 26, 2008

By 

ATeacherFromFlorida (Tallahassee, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Car Alarm (Audio CD)

Customarily Sea and Cake take three or four years between releases (with the exception of their early discography), but Car Alarm, surprisingly, is released fresh on the heels of their last full-length. Sea and Cake are one of those bands like The Fall. Not in sound, but in reliability: always different, always the same. Here, the breezy, light, deft songwriting is still the same, but the hooks are more pronounced, whereas in their early 00s albums some of the numbers tended to dissolve a little too easily on the ear. Think of this as a kind of cross between Oui/One Bedroom and The Biz, a successful hybrid: Sea and Cake's most energetic offering in a while.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly More Of The Same - Not A Bad Thing - Plus Some New Twists, November 7, 2008

By 

Marcus Tullius Wardo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Car Alarm (Audio CD)

At first listen, Car Alarm sounds a lot like The Sea and Cake's last album, Everybody. Sam Prekop's lilting voice still dominates the sound and no one is ever going to mistake these folks for Metallica. The Sea and Cake is understated indie, low on angst and distortion and long on melody and songcraft. However, Car Alarm has more bounce and edge to it than Everybody. The biggest risk of this band is that some of the songs are so smooth and effortless that sometimes they sound too close to "easy listening" or elevator music. With Car Alarm, The Sea and Cake looks to be trying to avoid dead-ending in that direction and add in some rougher guitars (as on "Aerial" or "Car Alarm" or "New Schools") and punchier bass lines ("Weekend" or "Down in the City") and unusual song structure ("Weekend," "The Staircase"). "Weekend" may be the real gem on this album, a delightful melding of acoustic guitars and bass and Prekop vocals. This is mellow stuff, good background music rather than something to listen to with the headphones on and cranked up to 10. If you already like Sea and Cake, you should go ahead and get this one. If you're not sure about the sound, by all means listen to the samples before buying. I suspect most people are going to react with either "kinda like it" or "boring," so test drive a few songs first. I fall into the first camp and find this music to be very likable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Masterpiece, March 15, 2009

By 

M. Ellicott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Car Alarm (MP3 Download)

Every single track on this album is INCREDIBLE. There is no filler whatsoever. Easily one of the best albums of 2008 or any year. My first Sea and Cake album and after hearing this amazing masterwork, I am now a fan for life.