Latest Sea and Cake offers pastels, signature sounds

The Sea and Cake
One Bedroom
(Thrill Jockey Records)

Classified officially as indie rock, The Sea and Cake have released their most elegant and inebriatingly melodic album yet.

"One Bedroom" is the sixth release from this "supergroup." Comprised of members of Tortoise (drummer John McEntire), Coctails (guitarist Archer Prewitt) and Shrimp Boat (bassist Eric Claridge,) the band is led by Sam Prekop, who has done myriad projects of his own.

The Sea and Cake were originally named after McEntire misinterpreted a Gastr Del Sol song, "The C in Cake," and were thereafter known for such wordplay. Having just released their sixth album since their debut in 1994, fans should not be disappointed by the work for which the band is notorious.

The first song, "Four Corners," opens up three of its nearly six minutes with an entrancing musical montage of dual guitars combined with a synth-pop sound reminiscent of the Beta Band, 5ive Style and Gastr Del Sol.

The second track, "Left Side Clouded," continues the Sea and Cake's signature sound as it takes the listener through a laid-back, spring-breeze sound of pastel colors and clouds.

I could pretty much do anything I want to do with this album and have it as my soundtrack; whether I am making lunch or writing a paper. This is another Sea and Cake album from which I will extract one of its many, to put it simply, pretty tracks to make the perfect compilation.

Unfortunately, a lot of the songs seem to bleed into one another, so the songs are quite similar as the record progresses.

However, the band, for the first time, does cover a David Bowie song. This is interesting in the fact that David Bowie is neither pastel nor cloud-like; the Sea and Cake version of Bowie's "Sound and Vision" is more Sea and Cake than Bowie. That track alone is worth a listen of the quartet's latest.

"One Bedroom" is so infectiously soft and flowy that none of the aforementioned matters; it's yet another Sea and Cake album that may send some listeners to dreamland and others to musical euphoria.

Though this album may not differ much from past works by the Sea and Cake, their signature sound is rich in satisfying ear candy. Whether you've had past experiences with this band you will enjoy this disc and savor it for everything it's worth; yet new listneners can fully appreciate them for the sound they've developed and stuck with for nearly a decade.