The Sea And Cake - Car Alarm reviews
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| Avclub |
 On Car Alarm, The Sea And Cake again proves itself a band of many shades, by way of a subtle progression. "Aerial," "A Fuller Moon," and "On A Letter" begin the album with relatively simple arrangements that rest on Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt's catchy weave of guitars. Drummer John McEntire and bassist Eric Claridge keep these songs pumping ahead, hinting at the band's live sound, but Car Alarm doesn't start to open and show its full promise until the sixth track, "Weekend." Acoustic guitars echo back and forth as the bass line jumps to the front like a nervous question. The song seems to move at three speeds simultaneously: itchy electronica, post-punk rocker, and trip-hop wallow. It isn't as simple or clumsy as just nailing the elements together—this band throws in surprises only when they feel, paradoxically, natural. On the second half of Car Alarm, songs like "Pages," "Down In The City," and "New Schools" keep things bobbing forward and fatten up on texture, twisting around corners to sweep up moods in that puzzling yet catchy way that only Sea And Cake tunes can. "The Staircase" neatly closes up the album (before the exit music of "Mirrors," that is), as Prekop croons out a cool mist of vocal hooks, wrapping these peculiar adventures, as he always does, in smooth confidence....full text |
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| Lostatsea |
Breezy and sometimes avant-garde, The Sea and Cake continue to hone their distinct sound on their seventh full-length LP. Their latest follows up 2007's well-received Everybody with equally brilliant results. Similar to their past releases, on Car Alarm the quartet draws inspiration from other genres, creating a jazz-influenced, rock-based hybrid. The album, at its core, is polished and methodical with a colorful swagger. Though mellow, it would be unjust to categorize Car Alarm as "easy-listening." There is much more to be noticed.
The formation of The Sea and Cake came with the demise of The Coctails and Shrimp Boat in the mid-1990s, and the group quickly became one of indie-rock's preeminent bands. In the midst of the grunge explosion - an era of heavy power chords and obvious discontent - the four-piece from Chicago boldly introduced experimental, technique-obsessed rock. Divergence from the mainstream has proven successful, as evidenced by a fourteen-year career span and an ability to stay relevant in contemporary music circles.
Car Alarm teeters between delicate and forceful, sometimes flirting with a momentum that never really threatens a loss of control. Perhaps unconsciously, The Sea and Cake celebrate their roots with a straight-forwardness suggestive of the 90s scene they established themselves in. Their mid-tempo arrangements allow for each instrumental or vocal nuance to surface: Sam Prekop's fluid, introspective vocals; John McEntire's driving percussion; Archer Prewitt's shimmering guitar; Eric Claridge's interjected synth. As technically trained musicians, the quartet plays with impeccable precision, not unlike today's math-rock groups....full text |
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| Allmusic |
| Released 17 months after Everybody, a mere blink of an eye for this group of Renaissance men, Car Alarm represents an attempt by the Sea and Cake to be a working band -- for what may be the last time, what with family obligations to place among the vast array of outside interests. The album was written in a burst just after returning from an Australian tour, and recorded in a fairly quick span as well. The results seem to have refreshed this band of post-rock stalwarts, who may never need (or desire) a radical shift in sound, but should have already easily fallen prey to laziness -- an album where the adjective "workmanlike" becomes an insult rather than a compliment. Their brisk, efficient indie rock hasn't changed radically, but the insertion of an instrumental here and an electronics-heavy track there makes for needed counterpoint. The individual members of the quartet are still nearly telepathic in their group interplay; John McEntire's drums set the tone for each song while Eric Claridge's bass anchors the lower register, and the twin guitars of Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt scope out the higher frequencies....full text |
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