Customer Reviews

Fawn

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

if you leave a lover and move 3000 miles by bus, this album is just as important as clean socks. track #1:sporting life, evokes images of renewal and hope, with a clear tone of regret and mourning. this album is the only way to survive the toil of nebraska's grass land flatness. nothing more than simple notes and feelings in the music envoke starry arrays of the future...one to give to your grandchildren, or play at a wedding-funeral...mhofkp/rgage@rcsis.com

How to put into words the beauty this C.d. evokes. I was given a bootleg copy on tape and it was my first introduction to the Sea and Cake. Since then I have bought every recording they have made and apon reflection this is by far their best. I am not going over-board by saying it is truly sublime. The word "infectious"- although cliche is perfect in describing how the music on this album is unlike any you have ever heard and it WILL infiltrate your soul. I have not stopped listening to it since I obtained it three years ago. If you love any of the following; Coltrane, Miles, Tortoise, Modest Mouse, Stevie Wonder, Bach, Beethoven, Mingus, Bob Marley, Curtis Mayfield, Yo la tengo, Radiohead etc.....buy it, buy it, buy it.

When I first heard this album I though it was a British band I hadn't yet come across- It sounds a little like the moodiest bits of 1995-97 Blur if they were in Sweden more often. Its very addictive, well crafted pop. If you like Pulp, Blur, Stereolab, that sort of beat I'd add this one to your collection too. And Vice Versa, for your Sea & Cake fans. It also makes me want to buy lots of Bruuns Bazaar clothes and eat Scandinavian food. Maybe do some shopping. But that's just me.

from the first note of the first song till the very last note of the last song this album will raise you to a new level. i was a bit reluctant to purchase this album but because their previous albums were so close to perfection i decided to go ahead. now this album replaces 'the biz' as sea and cakes best in my collection. sam integrates his soft voice and melodic guitar with more contemporary, synthesized sounds as close to perfection as one can strive for . i havent taken this out of my cd player for two weeks now and it has provided me with multiple inspirations for painting. a must have for anyone who considers their lives musically oriented.

Living in Chicago I heard "The Argument" on Northwestern's college radio station. It's extended beginning is infectious. Sputtering drum fills, taps, and a watery soul bass line. Even though I had never heard the group, I began singing; making up my own lyrics in a faux breathy voice. Then when Sam Prekop's own breathy lyrics kicked in i almost messed myself. It was too perfect.

The Fawn is a slick continuance of their past, morphing them ever closer to McEntire's personal Sterelab. Gone is the attitude that pushed the Biz into coolness. Also gone is McEntire's superb drumming sound which he now favors to tailor with electronics. The Sea and Cake have moved into sophisticated aloofness with this record. It is at times sublime and others boring. I really like this record but am trepidatious about what's to come.

This is extremely unusual, beautiful music. If it were any more tranquil it would make your heart stop.

The first three tracks are the best run of songs in the entire Sea and Cake discography. Each one of them is absolutely incredible. 'The Fawn' may very well be the most indescribably beautiful song that they have ever written, although 'Parasol' off the second album comes close. If you haven't guessed already, I'm crazy about this album and advise that any S&C fan or anyone thinking about being one should pick this album up. I wouldn't recommend it as their first album to get, that title goes to either the debut or Oui, but this album is indispensable. It's a shame that it's relatively underrated among their other work, because it is absolutely beautiful. Before anyone tosses off this band, they should definitely hear this record first.

This is the major turning point in The Sea and Cake's career. I prefer the earlier, more varied work, but if you can make peace with Prekop's new "crooning" style of singing, the sleek, sophisticated pop of The Fawn (and later albums) is rewarding listening.

Now, see, there I go: "sophisticated pop". "Sleek". Or "smooth", another common adjective used for The Sea and Cake.

You see, I hate "sleeksmoothsophisticatedpop"...usually. But this is intelligent, finely crafted music that I'll listen to again and again. I haven't yet been able to resolve this particular conflict, but if I could I think I'd finally be able explain the appeal of The Sea and Cake.

All in all, I rate The Fawn just a little below Oui and One Bedroom, but it's probably the place to start to get into the second part of the Sea and Cake's career.

I've been working backwards from Oui, so that is my reference point. The Fawn is equally incredible.This is good stuff folks-funky, jazzy, smooth. Pure enjoyment. Pick it up. The stand out tracks are:

Sporting Life

The Argument

Civilise

Bird and Flag

WOW. The Sea and Cake is a band with tremendous talent and a creative vision. Their sound is simple yet complicated, integrating rich, dreamy sounds with Sam Prekop's soothing voice. "Sporting Life" is a stunningly beautiful song that never wears out; it motivates you to hope high and love life. "There you are" is equally beautiful- it starts off bare and then integrates each sound until the perfect lullaby emerges. I feel that The Fawn is the type of album that the listener has to get used to in order to be fully appreciated. The initial listening will evoke curiosity, but every Fawn experience thereafter will be truly enlightening. The sounds of The Sea and Cake is ageless; everyone, even you old folks, can appreciate them. I absolutely LOVE this album and consider The Fawn to be one of my 5 stranded-on-a-desert island discs. You won't be disappointed!