Albums by this artist

Everybody (2007)

Oui (2000)

The Fawn (1997)

The Biz (1995)

Nassau (Recommended) (1995)

Concerts

August 30, 2000
Hideout, Chicago

Interviews

Four Gentlemen
October 16, 2000

The Sea & Cake

Nassau

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» MARK T.R. DONOHUE | STAFF WRITER

NATN Recommended The Sea & Cake Nassau Thrill Jockey, 1995 RiYL: Shrimp Boat, Tortoise, Feelies

I realize my justifying my placement of Nassau as the number three record of the '90s, above...well, everything else except numbers one and two, is going to be a hard sell. But look here -- when it all comes down to it, what's most important is what gives the record buyer the most pleasure, longevity and happiness for his CD dollar. And Nassau, let me tell you, has more than more than staked its claim. To the point where there's almost grooves in my copy of the CD.

I can't tell you how many long days at work have been put into perspective by "Soft And Sleep," how many bouts of depression combated with "The World Is Against You," how many doldrums have been annhiliated with one application of the opening drumroll of "Nature Boy." Nassau, somehow, hits all the right spots in Western Homes' musical brain. Pavement, and Tortoise, and Slint, those guys are universal. The Sea & Cake are deeply personal. You might not have as much patience for Sam Prekop's thin little croon, Archer Prewitt's snaggly little guitar hooks, or Eric Claridge's hey-guys-I'm-really-an-art-student bass stylings as I do, but so what? It makes me happy. It's my number three record of the 1990s. So too damn bad if you don't like it.

Where other modern indie bands have turned to weird effects and Sonic Youth tunings, TSAC are more enraptured by Brazilian pop and smooth jazz standards. Nassau features nary a scream or jolt of unholy guitar, focusing rather on snazzy rhythms and exuberant clean-channel strumming. Prekop's voice is friendly but distracted, pretty, but a bit off-the-cuff. It adds to the overall feeling of an album that's this decade's most relaxed masterpiece.

"The Cantina," "The World Is Against You," and "Nature Boy" are bouncy, upbeat pop scores, with surprisingly complex drumming and guitars that blend Sonny Sharrock with the Feelies. The ballad "Parasol" is a dreamy, almost floating slowdown. Instrumentals "Earth Star" and the splendidly titled "A Man Who Never Sees A Pretty Girl That He Doesn't Love Her A Little" prove the band holds up just as well without Prekop's fine singing.

A band that does what it does so well that they really can't be imitated, The Sea & Cake are one of indie's rarest treasures, too often unfairly overlooked for flashier (and less laid-back) bands. Nassau is a simply gorgeous album, one well worth spending lots of quality time with.

MARK T.R. DONOHUE | Mark T.R. Donohue is a prolific freelance writer whose areas of expertise include Rockies baseball, video games, genre television, English soccer, and pub rock. He lives in Colorado, where he cultivates the largest and creepiest private collection of Alyson Hannigan memorabilia in the Mountain West.