The Sea and Cake

Hailing from Chicago’s independent music community, the Sea and Cake formed as a post-rock collective drawing on several scene veterans. Fronted by singer and guitarist Sam Prekop, the lineup also includes bassist Eric Claridge, both of whom had previously played in Shrimp Boat. Following that band’s breakup, Prekop and Claridge accepted an invitation to start fresh and quickly enlisted former Coctails guitarist Archer Prewitt along with Tortoise drummer John McEntire to begin recording. Although conceived as a single endeavor, the musicians chose to keep working together; after adopting the Sea and Cake as their name—an error McEntire made when hearing the Gastr del Sol track “The C in Cake”—they issued their self-titled debut in 1994, an enigmatic set that showcased Prekop’s stream-of-consciousness lyrics and distinctive blend of pop, jazz, blue-eyed soul, and Krautrock elements.

The group followed with two further albums in 1995, the detailed Nassau and the lustrous The Biz. After delivering The Fawn in 1997, they paused while Prewitt and Prekop each issued solo records. They resumed with their fifth LP, Oui, in 2000, and three years later unveiled the polished One Bedroom. By then their sound had expanded to embrace African-inspired riffs, Brazilian touches, and guitar-driven indie pop, fueling a surge of productivity as the decade closed. Everybody arrived in 2007 and Car Alarm followed in 2008. An EP, The Moonlight Butterfly, appeared in 2011, after which the musicians tracked their tenth studio album; Runner emerged in September 2012.

Several years passed without new material—the longest interval in the band’s history—until Any Day surfaced in 2018. The ten-song set ended a six-year hiatus and incorporated flute and clarinet contributions from Brian Wilson collaborator Paul Von Mertens. Ahead of release, the Sea and Cake previewed the title track.