Customer Reviews

Nassau

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

 

 

I know some people may not agree with me, but I unskakeably regard Nassau as being the paramount work of The Sea and Cake. I stumbled across this CD and the band purely by chance. While walking through Reckless Records in Chicago I heard "Cantina" playing on the store sound system. I asked the girl the name of the band and have been happy I did so ever since. This was the first CD I ever heard from them and it is also the one I like the best.

They hit heights here most musicians can only hallucinate about. I would fix "Parasol", "The World is Against You," "Lamonts Lament," "Soft and Sleep," and "The Cantina" as being among their most endearing songs. The beauty of "Parasol" is something which caused me to reboot it up again and again in the time following my official purchase. You will not be disappointed.

This is definitely the Sea and Cake's most varied album; the scope of the songs ranges from the light breezy "Parasol" to the uptempo "Nature Boy" to the album-ending rock-out "I Will Hold The Tea Bag." It's a bit of a departure from their usual latin jazz sound, and it's not as electronic as "The Fawn" or "One Bedroom," but I like the chances that the band took.

As usual, the level of musicianship is top-notch all around, but I have to say that John McEntire's drumming is exceptional here. I would also recommend this album to a newcomer to The Sea and Cake, as it's a pretty good indicator of the range this band is capable of. If you like it, you'll probably like other albums that resemble certain songs. If you don't like it, there's a chance that another more cohesive and realized album would appeal to you more.

Mixing a certain laid back energy, clever instrumentals, and some fine, keening songwriting, this is probably the very best of the Sea and Cake albums. Hard to say what makes it the best, though--probably a combination of the songs and the way they f-l-o-w. "Parasol" is the greatest song Prekop has yet written. Why it isn't on the radio, and a big hit, is a mystery to me. I mean, it's just criminal!

more mature than the first album, more organic than their recent stuff, this one's an absolute gem. If I owned a sailboat, this is the sea & cake album I'd have with me... for whatever that's worth. often subtle, always nice, holds up well from start to finish over repeated listenings.

I just got this CD in the mail today, and I have to say that I am rather disappointed. Compared to the other Sea and Cake releases that I have listened to (The Biz, The Sea & Cake, and The Fawn) this one comes up sounding pale and empty. The vocals sound hollow (kind of reminds me of the vocals on some Echo and the BunnyMen recordings) and the overall mix seems kind of thin. I did like the second song, "Parasol", but unlike another reviewer I wouldn't call it "the greatest song Prekop has yet written." And the CD seems to feature an inordinate proportion of Prekop's trademark yell ("owww!") that, while appropriate in other songs in moderation, gets on your nerves after the third time in ten minutes.

I will listen to this album more to see if it grows on me, but my first impression makes that event seem unlikely. I could not find a single song that really touched me - like "Showboat Angel" on their first album, or "The Transaction" on The Biz. My advice: stick with the band's other releases.

A consistently breezy, passably underwhelming early effort for the band's high standards.

While it is difficult for almost any album to top the greatness of "The Biz", this is not the point. Nassau is clearly a snapshot of the indy boys from Chigago's finest work. With the exception of the first track, Nature Boy, the entire album is pure Sea & Cake wonder. John McIntire, as ususal, shines on the skins throughout (especially "The Man who Never...." and "Earth Star" and in this writer' opinion, could be the best drummer on the scene today (not to mention his production talent). Sam Prekop's soothing vocals are right on and Archer Prewitt continues with his mystic melodies.

Parasol, Lamont's Lament, Soft & Sleep, and Earth Star are easily some of the Sea & Cake's best work and for those who can't get off Biz, shame on you, see the sea for the stars here.

For any fan of the Sea & Cake, this album is a must have, and for those who havn't experienced this great band, it's a must have, along with The Biz and their eponymous first release.

I got here last. Purchased and throughly digested the other albums first. The Biz still thrills. The newest stuff less so. But I can't help liking nearly everything The Sea and Cake have put out. Both Parasol and Earth Star are terrfiic, tender and smart songs almost too pretty-just great. As for best of the rest on this album- it strikes me that the music explores a slightly different territory- Not much worse than where they eventually ended up but not quite as good. Although some of the rawish gravely openness would be useful in cracking open the overproduced smoothness of the tunes on Oui.

The Sea and Cake stand at an odd intersection of indie pop, jazz and punk(!); Any resemblance to traditional rock in their music seems almost incidental. If you subtract Sam Prekop's singing and loose pop song structures then poof! you've got Tortoise. In fact, on "A Man Who Never Sees A Pretty Girl..." they sound almost exactly like their Chicago post-rock (oh! I used the term, sorry) brethren. For the most part, though, S&C forges a unique and distinctive sound all their own.

Most of the material here has the same gentle, jazzy quality paired with a deliberate indie-punk sloppiness. While the album is full of high points, I can easily say "Parasol" is the clear standout track. It glides and floats and hits all the right notes... Really, most of the songs are quite good, the exception being "Lamonts Lament," which sounds like a bad Cure b-side.

Nassau is the first of two albums Sea & Cake released in 1995 (the other: The Biz) and I found it to be the most likable of the pair. It's the first CD of theirs I ever heard (I have since picked up The Fawn as well). So, I can attest that Nassau is an excellent introduction to the band, so if you're curious start here.

The Sea and Cake es un grupo que esta empecinado en enaltecer al decaído Pop, y creo que lo logran, luego de un acercamiento a su música es probable que revitalicen tu lado más lúdico y despreocupado, pero siempre evocando paisajes melancólicos e intimistas. Nassau esta mas instalado en el lado del Rock/Pop que de otras corrientes, y dentro de la trayectoria de The Sea and Cake, este disco tiene límites mas definidos, de hecho funcionan aquí dentro de la lógica de un grupo de buenos músicos conformistas pero sumamente talentosos. Creo que la simpleza de las estructuras y la ausencias de arreglos demasiado pretensiosos hacen que las interpretaciones se radicalicen, por ejemplo Sam Prekop canta con mas determinación, la presencia de su voz se siente mas que the Fawn. Este es un gran trabajo que posee el valor de mostrarse honesto y claro en su búsqueda de otras maneras de hacer lo mismo, pero aletargadamente!.