The fifth Sea and Cake album? Nah, not really.
Considering that Sam Prekop's first solo album came between the Sea and Cake's The Fawn and Oui albums, this record is almost surprisingly subdued and, with the exception of "Faces and People", not electronic at all. In fact, it seems to go out of its way to be an organic, meditative affair. Jim O'Rourke's presence is felt with the addition of string arrangements. Archer Prewitt's steady hand on guitar textures, Josh Abrams' stand up acoustic bass and the record's underlying bossa nova slant all combine for one of the coolest albums in recent years. It's a must for Sea and Cake fans, but it distances itself from the band's fingerprints within the first few tracks. It's a quiet, subtle, calm and soothing record that doesn't merely feel like a stopgap solo project, but a colorful mini-revelation for an artist whose career is filled with them.
~Austin
The seventh Sea and Cake album? Could be.
Although everyone who appeared on Sam's first solo album also appears here (sans Jim O'Rourke), this album is decidedly more electronic, suggesting that most of this material was perhaps intended for the seventh Sea and Cake album. The really intriguing aspect of this album is Josh Abrams' stand up acoustic bass, which gives the songs, which are otherwise very Sea and Cake-y, a very unique texture. As songs go, the whole thing's pretty solid, in typical Sam Prekop fashion. There aren't many surprises, save for the floaty Neil Young-ified guitarscape "Dot Eye", which, for a rare moment of distortion, is unexpectedly convincing. Overall, this record is more about the songs (which are excellent for the most part) than the presentation (which is simple and not flashy), which makes for a distinctly low-key proceeding. It's just as equally as slow and breezy as his first album, it just sounds a lot more like a proper Sea and Cake record and is therefore not as unique. Still a really great piece of work.
~Austin
Sam n'Archer live in the studio.
Recorded in the fall of 2005 for University of Minnesota radio station KUOM, this live EP has three songs from the recently released Who's Your New Professor? album and one song from Sam's first album. The whole thing is great, with Sam and Archer Prewitt trading their incomparable guitar phrases, stripping the songs down to their bare necessities and exposing the beauty at their respective cores. The songs make more sense after hearing them in this context, but not all the renditions here are necessarily better, just different. Thrill Jockey, in an undeniably cool move, offers this EP for free download -along with lots of other good (free!) stuff- on their vault page.
~Austin
