The Sea & Cake formed in 1993, and have released six full length albums. I own three (and I just bought another yesterday.) The Biz is by far my favorite Sea & Cake album. This band is very easy to get into, so if you have never heard of them then this is a great place to start. Although the band name is kind of strange the music is not so don't let the band name mislead you. This was released less than a year after the bands second album, but it is still the bands best album.
The Sea & Cake combine post-rock, jazz, pop, soul, and experimental rock into their music. Even though those are a lot of genres, The Biz is an extremely simple album and things never get complex. You can tell that this band is really changing from their debut album. TSAC experiment with heavier influences of soul and pop on here, things arn't as stripped down and boring as they used to be. Everything on here is mellow, smooth, and cool. The pop and jazz influences are very apparent and easy to point out. The cool jazzy guitar lines, and the poppy melodies are very catchy and relaxing. This music has a slight twist of soul and post-rock, The Biz is one of the most relaxing and peaceful albums I own. On a few of these tracks guitarists Prekop and Prewitt go into brief jam sessions. This is a good thing because the duo of the guitar lines creates a jazzy and smooth feel. The melodies are catchy, the music is jazzy, mellow, and smooth plus this music is just so relaxing.
The instruments are excellent. The two guitars presented here are the key too The Biz. The guitars play poppy, catchy, and soothing melodies. Combining at times to create an odd jazzy and soul feel. While the comination of soul, jazzy, pop, and post-rock might sound odd the music is very accessible. The guitars are played on every track and they create the jazzy feel. The drums and keyboards are the huge pop influence here. The drums keep a decent rythm section, and sometimes they arn't even noticeable. The keyboards are the next big key here. Playing simple scales and chords, they keyboards create the poppiness of this album. The keyboards are smooth and fun, they keep things from getting boring and they add a pop/soul feel to the Biz. The Biz has sort of a spacey feel to it. When you listen to this you will feel like you are lying on a beach drinking lemonade. I know I have said this a few times already but this is so mellow and relaxing it is amazing. The jazz and pop influences keep things from getting boring and The Biz is very accessible. Every other Sea & Cake album have lacked replay value. That is not a problem here because there is something new to discover with every listen. The Biz is the ultimate album for relaxing, and it is also very effective if you just want some mellow music to listen to.
I guess I'll take a little bit of time to describe the vocals. They are exactly like the rest of the album, mellow, smooth, and relaxing. Sam Prekop has a high-pitched and an extremely soft vocal delivery. Sometimes he whispers, and on a few tracks he sounds a little tentative and dry. Prekops vocals arn't exactly the greatest, they fit the sound of the album but they can get a little bit annoying and stale after repeated listens.Prekop's guitar skills on this album are key, however his voice isn't the greatest. The vocals arn't bad, they are actually quite good but they arn't excellent like the rest of the album.
What an album. The Biz is probably the most accessible and easy to listen to post-rock album that I've ever heard. If you have tried to get into post-rock and just can't get into it than give this band a shot. The thing that amazes me is how this band gets hardly any credit for what they do. Jazz and pop are huge influences here, and The Biz is experimental yet it remains simple and very accessible. There are no bad tracks on here and the guitar and keyboard playing is superb. The catchy melodies mixing in with the mellow vocals and rythms creates a relaxing and slightly atmospheric sound. The Biz has great replay value, and never seems to get old. Without any bad tracks The Sea & Cake create a jazzy post-rock gem.
Overall Rating : 4.5/5
Pros: Jazz, pop, and soul influences - Replay Value - No Bad Tracks - Relaxing
Cons: Vocals arn't exactly a con, but they arn't anything to rave about
Recommended Tracks - The Biz - Leeora - Escort - An Assassin
