Spend summer days eating cake by the sea to The Sea and Cake

Hailing from Chicago, my favorite scene for indie music (it provided the world with the beauty that is Andrew Bird, after all), The Sea and Cake is yet another clean and simple indie pop rock band. Around since the early 90’s, a melting pot of influences marks their earlier work, evocative of a sort of more subdued, Vampire Weekend-esque sound–minus the fact that I don’t like them. Sue me. Sufjan Stevens doesn’t like them either. I’m not alone. No one gives a fuck about your Oxford Comma, Vampire Weekend. Sorry.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. The Sea and Cake is much more palatable–MUCH. Maybe VW was a bad musical comparison. I was going for the tropical/afro-rhythms kind of thing. So maybe they used to be like a less annoying Vampire Weekend plus Yo La Tengo. Whatever. You get the point. While the vocals weren’t as strong back in the day, (they’ve improved over time, like I said), the old stuff is worth listening to. Good for summer days eating cake by the sea. Or just being by the sea. Or just eating cake. Take your pick. In any case, try their self-titled debut out. It’s got a very distinctive sound.

Although that sound has evolved into more current indie pop rock, they’re still great. My pick of the day comes from their newest but not really new album, ‘Everybody.’ The song’s called “Crossing Line” and it’s amazing. Catchy fuzzed guitar line, hand claps, simplistically smart lyrics, among The Sea and Cake’s better vocals–what more could you ask for? Take a listen here:

You can also take a listen to it over at their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/seaandcake), along with two of my favorite earlier songs, “Jacking the Ball” and “Choice Blanket.” I’ll have some up over at ProjectPlaylist (http://www.playlist.com/node/36491639), too.

For more on The Sea and Cake, visit their website (http://www.theseaandcake.com/).
For more on Sufjan Stevens‘ possibly contrived “indie rock beef” with Vampire Weekend: Pitchfork.
For more on Vampire Weekend, don’t bother. I hate them.