Speckly (Specimen Products, 1989 - AUM Fidelity, 2005) and especially Duende (bar/None, 1992), recorded in 1990 with Brad Wood on drums, turned the latin/jazz influence into a wicked vice that Prekop's voice knew how to tame. Bouncing from free-jazz (Tartar's Mark) to lullabies (Bumble Bees), and aping the freak-folk of Camper Van Beethoven (New Song Waltz, Jing Jing, the instrumental Back To The Ukraine), Shrimpt Boat never sounded obvious and never gave in to normality. The three-cd box-set Something Grand (AUM, 2004) collects rare and live material.

The experiment became seriously challenging with the complex, elaborate harmonies of Cavale (Bar None, 1993). The sprightly Pumpkin Lover opens the album, but it hardly represents what follows. The core of the album is a set of ballads with horn section that coin a weird fusion of sweet soul, southern rock and rhythm and blues (Line Song, What Do You Think Of Love). The funky Dollar Bill and the doleful singalong Creme Brulee reinvent this style while it is being invented.
The band serves also more traditional (and humurous) fare like Duende Suite and Swinging Shell. But the highlight of the album is a Lou Reed-ian number, both ironic and apocalyptic: Oranges.

The band was capable of playing for three or four hours in a small club in front of a very small audience. The playing was impeccable and the attitude was punk.

(Translation by/ Tradotto da Paolo Latini)

Speckly (Specimen Products, 1989) ed ancor di piu' Duende (bar/None, 1992), registrato nel 1990 con Brad Wood alla batteria, trasformano l'influenza latin/jazz in un peccaminoso vizio che solo la voce di Prekop sa addomesticare. Rimbalzando dal free-jazz (Tartar's Mark) alle ninnananne (Bumble Bees), e scimmiottando il freak-folk dei Camper Van Beethoven (New Song Waltz, Jing Jing, la strumentale Back To The Ukraine), gli Shrimpt Boat sono ben lungi dall'essere ovvi e non cedono mai alla normalita'.

L'esperimento divenne provocante con le armonie complesse e elaborate di Cavale (Bar None, 1993). La vivace Pumpkin Lover apre l'album, ma difficilmente puo' rappresentare quel che segue. Il cuore dell'album e' un insieme di ballate, corredate di sezione fiati che coniano una magica fusione di soul leggero, southern rock e rhythm and blues (Line Song, What Do You Think Of Love). Il funky di Dollar Bill e il dolente singalong di Creme Brulee reinventano continuamente questo stile sul nascere.
La band offre anche episodi piu' tradizionali (e divertenti) come Duende Suite e Swinging Shell. Ma il pezzo forte dell'album e' un numero Lou Reed-iano, ironico ed apocalittico: Oranges.

Il gruppo era capace di suonare per tre o quattro ore in un minuscolo club davanti ad un pubblico piu' che esiguo. Il modo in cui suonavano era impeccabile, e l'attitudine era punk.

Nassau (Thrill Jockey, 1995) expands on those ideas by leveraging sumptuous keyboards arrangements. The emotional excursion is broader: the Farfisa-driven Nature Boy is a joyful ditty, while the cello-accented Parasol is a depressed dirge.

The Biz (Thrill Jockey, 1995) sounds like an inferior repetition of the same concepts, performed with traditional instruments. The technical prowess is clearly improving, but somehow it detracts from the inspiration.

The conversion to electronica that took place with The Fawn (Thrill Jockey, 1997), propelled by sequencers and drum machines, led to a mellower and more polished version of the band. Besides being terribly cold, the new course increased the addiction to soul, funk, latin and pop.

The solo career of Sea And Cake's guitarist Archer Prewitt began with In The Sun (Carrot Top, 1997), a collection of fragile soul-pop embellished with chamber arrangements (Good Man, Rush Hour, City Ride). Cardinal's influence is even stronger on the lush orchestral arrangements of White Sky (Carrot Top, 1999). Todd Rundgren and Van Dyke Parks would be proud of his Final Season and Summer's End. Gerroa Songs (Carrot Top, 2000) continues this trend towards mellow, mininal, timid and relaxed easy-listening (particularly the instrumentals).
Three (Thrill Jockey, 2002) completes Prewitt's "maturation" as a pop arranger. By fusing Electric Light Orchestra's art of the melodic hook and Steely Dan's art of the lounge atmosphere, Prewitt comes up with impeccable nuggets such as Gifts of Love, Over the Line, Tear Me All Away. In the lengthy, elaborate I'm Coming Over, No Defense, Behind the Sun and Sister Ice, Prewitt outlines a more sophisticated version of this craft, that borders on Canterbury's progressive-rock but does not quite match the ethereal zietgeist.

Prewitt's Wilderness (Thrill Jockey, 2005) is a more intimate collection that capitalizes on the experiments of its predecessor. The songs stretch and shrink, frequently violating the canon of the pop song, while at the same time maintaining a dignified posture and an organic feeling. A few rank among his most touching experiences (Way of the Sun, Go Away, Leaders).

Sam Prekop (Thrill Jockey, 1999) is the Sea And Cake singer's debut, recorded with help from Jim O'Rourke, and John McEntire (Tortoise). Its seductive blend of jazz-rock and bossanova is as unique as effective. Prekop's second solo, Who's Your New Professor? (Thrill Jockey, 2005), is a collection of spare melancholy pop ballads.

Prekop riesuma i Sea And Cake, aiutato dal chitarrista Archer Prewitt dei Coctails e dal batterista John McEntire dei Tortoise. Sea And Cake (Thrill Jockey, 1994) e', se possibile, ancora piu' sperimentale di quanto lo fossero i dischi degli Shrimp Boat. L'eloquio alcolico e trasognante del leader e' caratterizzato da profonde e basse tonalita' jazz e soul. I Sea And Cake sembrano quasi gli Steely Dan (o gli Everything But The Girl) che risuonano Lou Reed.

Nassau (Thrill Jockey, 1995) espande quelle idee sistemando dei sontuosi arrangiamenti di tastiera. L'escursione emozionale e' piu' ampia: the Farfisa-driven Nature Boy e' uno stornello gioioso, ma gli accenti di violoncello di Parasol richiamano un canto funebre depresso.

The Biz (Thrill Jockey, 1995) sembra essere una ripetizione peggiore degli stessi concetti, risuonati con strumenti tradizionali.

La conversione elettronica che inizia con The Fawn (Thrill Jockey, 1997), profusa da sequencers e drum machines, conduce ad una versione piu' pastosa ed ingentilita della band. Oltre ad essere terribilmente freddo, il nuovo corso incrementa gli elementi col soul, il funk, la musica latina ed il pop.

Il chitarrista dei Sea And Cake, Archer Prewitt, debutta come solista con In The Sun (Carrot Top, 1997), una raccolta di fragile soul-pop impreziosito da arrangiamenti cameristici (Good Man, Rush Hour, City Ride). L'influenza del Cardinale e' ancor piu' forte nei lussureggianti arrangiamenti orchestrali di White Sky (Carrot Top, 1999). Todd Rundgren e Van Dyke Parks sarebbero fieri delle sue Final Season e Summer's End. Gerroa Songs (Carrot Top, 2000) continua questo trend con un pastoso, minimale, timido e rilassato easy-listening (in particolare gli strumentali).
Three (Thrill Jockey, 2002) completa il processo di "maturazione" di Prewitt come arrangiatore di musica pop. Fondendo l'arte della presa melodica degli Electric Light Orchestra e l'arte delle atmosfere lounge degli Steely Dan, Prewitt se ne esce con impeccabili pepite del calibro di Gifts of Love, Over the Line, Tear Me All Away. Nelle piu' lunghe ed elaborate I'm Coming Over, No Defense, Behind the Sun e Sister Ice, Prewitt abbozza una versione piu' sofisticata del suo mestiere, sfiorando il progressive-rock di Canterbury, senza pero' coglierne appieno l'etereo zietgeist.

Sam Prekop (Thrill Jockey, 1999) e' il debutto del cantante dei Sea And Cake, registrato con l'aiuto di Jim O'Rourke, e John McEntire (Tortoise). La sua seduttiva miscela di jazz-rock e bossanova e' tanto unica quanto efficace.

Even more elegant at the outset, One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey, 2003) soon reveals its modest ambitions and even more modest results. This orchestral jazzy easy-listening, disguised as post-rock via rhythmic patterns and disorienting sound effects, is neither original anymore or entertaining yet. Left Side Clouded, Four Corners, Shoulder Length and Hotel Tell stand out.

Dopo le avventure soliste dei due leaders, i Sea And Cake tornano sulle scene con un album inutile, Oui (Clearspot, 2000). Inutile, dato che non fa altro che ripetere cose da loro già dette negli album precedenti, per lo più la fattibilità di un genere al confine tra soul sensuale, jazz sonnolente e pop robotico (Everyday, Two Dolphins, Seemingly). E lo fa senza il pepe dell'immaginazione ma con un tocco classista, quasi aristocratico (toccando il madrigalismo con Beautiful bastard).

Ancor più elegante ad un primo ascolto,  One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey, 2003) rivela col secondo la modestia delle sue ambizioni, e la modestia ancor maggiore dei risultati. Si tratta di easy-listening jazzy orchestrale, lontamente imparentato col post-rock per via dei patterns ritmici e degli effetti sonori disorientanti, ma che non è né originale né d'intrattenimento. Risaltano solo  Four Corners, Shoulder Length and Hotel Tell.

Glass (Thrill Jockey, 2003) collects remixes.

Everybody (Thrill Jockey, 2007), wisely coming after a four-year hiatus, restored some confidence in the Sea And Cake sound. Moving away from the intellectual easy-listening muzak that the quartet (Archer Prewitt, Sam Prekop, John McEntire, bassist Eric Claridge) had been refining since Fawn, the album provided a welcome detour into a more energetic kind of rock music (Up on Crutches, Crossing Line, Exact To Me, Middlenight). The Steely Dan comparison is unfair, as Sea And Cake has neither the obvious melodic center of mass nor the obvious dance-rhythmic scaffolding. Prekop's meticulous sound construction is probably negatively affected by McEntire's numerous distractions in other projects.

Car Alarm (2008) was a spontaneous free-flowing work that proved the class of the musicians, but veered ever closer to general-purpose lightweight muzak.

Prekop took a vacation from his confidential jazz-pop and devoted an entire album, Old Punch Card (Thrill Jockey, 2010), to pay tribute to the pioneers of electronic music, playing synthesizer cacophony.

The Sea And Cake's mini-album The Moonlight Butterfly (Thrill Jockey, 2011) offered the usual polished pop muzak (notably the ten-minute Inn Keeping), but also a brief ambient electronic composition, The Moonlight Butterfly.

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