Indie veterans The Sea and Cake return this month with a quick follow-up to 2011’s dreamy mini-LP The Moonlight Butterfly. You’d never guess, based on this jaunty track, that the group is made up mostly of post-rock tinkerers. But S&C have always specialized, amid their soaring world/krautrock/jazz-inflected synth atmosphere, in these kind of pop nuggets. Part of the reason their albums usually feel so compelling and so right is the band’s sense of pace. The track sequences aim to chill you out, but then at the right moment overwhelm you with perfect bliss that percolates throughout the rest of the record, amplifying the sleepy hangover effect as you ride out the ambient waves.
For the new LP, Runner, they couldn’t have done better than “On and On” for an opening track. Based on a simple repeating guitar riff, the song coasts on a precise, motorik-inspired rhythm section and subtle washes of synth and guitar. Sam Prekop’s drowsy vocal, in his peculiar way, complements the snaking melody and actually adds to its emotional resonance while maintaining a satisfying air of detachment. In short, it does what all great opening tracks do: previews the pleasures yet to come.