It's happy hour again.
Memorial Day weekend is at a close, and this morning finds me updating live from the Chicago suburbs. The past few days have been filled with various forms of competition, numerous bottles of fine beer, and quality time with special people. Regular updates resume tomorrow, but, until then, enjoy this Chicago-style quickie.
Shrimp Boat – I Swear, Happy Days Are Mine. Sam Prekop is a busy man. As the unofficial ringleader of a quasi-collective that includes the Sea and Cake, Tortoise, Brokeback and numerous other post-rock bands from Chicago, Prekop’s influence casts a long shadow over the Windy City. Much of his popularity stems from the risks taken by his first band. Shrimp Boat is one of those criminally underrated bands, like the dB’s in Winston-Salem or Morphine in Boston, that quietly go about its business while simultaneously defining the sound of a geographic region during a certain period. Prekop and his boys emerged from the ashes of new wave and thumbed their noses at the guitar-happy alternative of the early 90s, releasing shambolic, left-field jangle-pop along the way. Duende, the album that I picked up last week, is a prime example of their lazy, yet powerful, taste for the eccentric. Here, vocals slink along across a plunky guitar line while the drums' jazzy sparseness provides a subtle affirmation of Shrimp Boat's aptitude for eclectic fusion.
BONUS: Shrimp Boat – Limerick. This track is a perfect slice of pop song a la Prekop. The folksy vibe is undercut with an energy characteristic of reggae, and seems to predict the Devandra Banhart-led freakfolk movement that’s so popular with the kids these days. Duende, along with most Shrimp Boat albums, is currently out of print in America; CD Universe has remastered imports starting at $29.99.
i haven't seen nor heard the housemartins in YEARS. i wonder if fatboy slim can still dance like that? nice mod band.
-chelsea
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