The Sea and Cake are still popping along. - Oh My Rockness

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The Sea and Cake are still popping along.

December 10, 2011
Ah, the Sea and Cake. I have such a soft spot in my heart for these easy-going dudes who are surprisingly still popping along after all these years. Taking a little of Yo La Tengo's lo-fi melodies and longevity, and adding a little bit of their own laid-back lounge, they were the purveyors of (what was then) an entirely new, carefree sound. The band never met a distortion pedal they liked.

I first fell for Sea and Cake back in 1994 after hearing the undeniably upbeat song, "Jacking the Ball" (Kerouac, yeah?), from that debut album of theirs that had the cool dude with the afro on the cover. The jingles and hooks sounded so happy. And happiness was a rare thing in indie rock circa 1994. They were doing something new.

Over the next seventeen years (!), the band has put out 6, 7, 8 (who knows anymore) enjoyable albums for Thrill Jockey. No small feat considering John McEntire was busy drumming for Tortoise, and The Sea and Cake's other multi-instrumentalist members were busy being in every other Chicago band. I'm really glad these grizzled vets are still around. You know you can't ever stop the pop. You can only hope to contain it.

The Sea and Cake play Empty Bottle, on Saturday, December 17th.

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