"May the days be aimless. Let the seasons drift. Do not advance the action according to a plan."
So go the early words of Don DeLillo’s masterful postmodernist novel White Noise. But the desire could easily apply to both The Sea and Cake’s song and video, "Weekend." Mop-topped teens are kicked out of the house and into the world, where they ride bikes, jump into lakes, goof off, light fireworks and generally forget their Xboxes, all to the Chicago supergroup’s kinetic soundtracking.
The Sea and Cake’s newest release Car Alarm, out October 21 from indie powerhouse Thrill Jockey, is packed with similar tracks that struggle for definition even as they ask you to kick back and enjoy the hyperactivity. The quickness of the effort is deliberate: Band members Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt, John McEntire and Eric Claridge are busier than ever. Prekop is a new father, McEntire has Tortoise and producer-for-hire duties to worry about, Claridge is a busy painter and Prewitt has a solo career to look after.
As a result, Car Alarm was pounded out in three short months, and sounds like it was born to run. Enjoy it. Life is short.
