Sam Prekop—yeah, we’re as surprised to see his name here as you might be. In the 16 or so years that he and his band, The Sea and Cake, have been writing music, they’ve been mentioned maybe once or twice in our pages. But it’s not because we don’t like the music (admittedly, most of us have been fans of Chicago post-rock at one time or another), it just isn’t exactly within the scope of XLR8R‘s focus. So why is this song here? Frankly, because it doesn’t sound anything like The Sea and Cake. Sam Prekop’s forthcoming solo record for Thrill Jockey, entitled Old Punch Card, is an album of instrumental explorations into the world of modular synthesizers. As heard on “The Silhouettes,” Prekop created warbling, analog soundscapes out of melodic arpeggiations, flitting white noise, and low-frequency drones to create the nine songs on his new full-length. The shift in style has effectively transfered his reputation as a veteran indie crooner into that of a new live-electronics composer writing pieces on par with our favorite sound experimentalists. So, yeah, that’s why you’re reading about Sam Prekop.

The Silhouettes

The Silhouettes