Sea & Cake

The Sea and Cake | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 1995)
• Original Release Date: October 20, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• ASIN: B000004B2J
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,328 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Jacking The Ball

2. Polio

3. Bring My Car I Feel To Smash It

4. Flat Lay The Water

5. Choice Blanket

6. Culabra Cut

7. Bombay

8. Showboat Angel

9. So Long To The Captain

10. Lost In Autumn

11. Bonus Track 1

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Dave Mathews didn't suck..., October 27, 2000

By 

C. Rasmussen (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sea & Cake (Audio CD)

He might be as good as The Sea and Cake. This album, their self-titled debut, is a rare case of a band sounding fully mature on their debut. What may be suprising for someone who has never heard The Sea and Cake is how much their music influenced by '60s soul and R&B. Personal favorites include "Jacking the Ball", "Bring My Car I Feel To Smash It", and "Showboat Angel". If all you've heard about TS&C is that they are "post-rock", check out this album of light, jazzy, funky indie rock.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Care for some Sea and Cake?, November 11, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sea & Cake (Audio CD)

The Sea and Cake is one of those great bands that hardly ever get the recognition they deserve, as they serve up gentle, whimsical post-rock without pretension. It takes a little while to fully "get" the Sea And Cake's self-titled debut, but it's a swooning, sunny trip when you finally do.

It opens with the gentle, slightly trippy "Jacking the Ball," a little gem of a song that serves to hook and draw in listeners. Not poppy, not hookish -- just very, very pretty. Following it up is "Polio," with its soft brass arrangements over a pretty, airy musical arrangement -- the horns ground the melody, and add a more vibrant feeling to this song.

Among the songs that follow are the soft ballads "Bring My Car I Feel to Smash It" and loungey, languid "So Long to the Captain." And the darker, percussive sound of "Culabra Cut" with eerie brass arrangements... not to mention the sparkling keyboard/guitar pop of "Choice Blanket." And that's only some of it.

At first listen, many people might label "Sea and Cake" to be simple easy-listening music. It's soft, airy and pretty, and the hardest instrumentation that can be found is some mellow guitarwork. Not terribly rock-ish. But the Sea and Cake's soothing grooves are a lot more complex than they seem at first glance.

There are some hints of loungey jazz and indie pop woven into this music, which is mostly gentle guitarwork, often kept slow and quiet. Backing that up are some pretty wicked drums -- they're subtle enough that it's easy to not notice they are there, yet they are also an integral part of the music. And there's some equally subtle keyboard, adding to the feeling of drifting away on a sunny beach.

Sam Prekop's vocals are as dreamy and subtle as the music itself is; this guy sounds like he was made to sing this. And the lyrics are a mix of melancholy and optimism; one minute Prekop is singing "Showboat angel you're crazy/When you're saving me," then he's lamenting, "I'm better off lonely reels the captain/Smoke jumps from the fingertips/Smoke slips through the blue lips/I'm better off lonely."

Beautiful and memorable, the Sea and Cake's self-titled debut is definitely a keeper. Mixing gently indie-jazzy grooves with post-rock smoothness isn't easy, but it's the heart of this album.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressed and Delighted, December 16, 1999

By 

Senor Schadenfreude (The Badlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea & Cake (Audio CD)

Damn. This is a great CD. The Sea and Cake are the band that you've been longing for (Intelligent, progressive, experimental, accessible). Their songs have a confused simplicity about them that captures the listener and keeps one listening. Hours later, you'll swear you've had this CD for years. Top cuts: "Showboat Angel" "Flat Lay the Water" "Lost in Autumn" "Goodbye to the Captain". A great find.