sam prekop
sometime last year in a wire interview, jim o'rourke poured vitriolic scorn upon that toddling town that had made him something of a legend: chicago. o'rourke complained, "the city closes at 10 p.m. and i think its dead musically". he also cited the apparent careerist intentions of its inhabitants, "the musicians most of them aren't even music fans". this is a serious point, i would never doubt a man as intelligent and as so damn fucking talented as o'rourke, but it could be argued that his recent albums are both testaments to the calculated marketing ploy he accuses his fellow townsman of. more importantly, they were in this music fans eyes, devoid of any substance. his mego lp was glitch/power book/laptop geek-dom by numbers whilst his drag city album was in no way a worthy successor to the gorgeous "eureka" album, choosing instead to revel in cast off lynyrd skynyrd and eagles riffs. hmmmm
it comes as a surprise then to discover that o'rourke plays a major role as producer (guiding a plethora of chicago musical figures) in sam prekop's stunning 1999 debut album. on board for this thigh slapping party time post-rock album is the ubiquitous presence of one mr. john mc entire at the controls (set to 'stun' one should imagine on this form!), archer prewitt and amongst many others, rob mazurek, i.e. the mother fucking god of cornet players. also suprising is how more accomplished this is then o'rourke's critically acclaimed/commercially acknowledged albums and prekop's main band, the sea and cake. enough of the pre-amble, for those who haven't been put off by the fact that this is thrill jockey release, then you're in for a treat.
the vibe is chicago through and through, but so much more soulful and endearingly earnest then on many other thrill jockey releases. prekop's voice is a hushed wonder, sounding painfully sincere when couched amidst his own compositions. true, he and prewitt trade furiously intent bossanova riffs as they do so in the sea and cake, but here the setting is far more laid back, almost studious but never overtly academic. the opening trios of songs are lush, pop-orientated compositions that map the blue print for the majority of the album: african embellishments, jazz inflected, staccato guitar lines, beautiful horn melodies and appropriately minimal orchestral arrangements which serve to heighten the album's warm, intimate feel. it was no wonder that prekop was asked to support terry callier on tour. he knows a thing or two about soulful guitar music (hint: it has fuck all to do with coldplay). "faces and people" is the album's avant-garde high-water mark; an instrumental track that blends pulsing, twitching, electro-acoustic rhythms with mazurek's cornet harmonies to bewitching effect. "the shadow" is, as its title suggests, late night melancholy, all brushed symbols, rim shots and descending fender rhodes over prekop's bitter-sweet delivery. album closer "so shy" is almost breezy in its restrained, tasteful exuberance: "so shy/that is so fine/hey.". hardly van dyke parks, but it does the trick.
this album is a personal favourite because it reminds me of my first year at goldsmiths college. lazy saturday days in sun kissed deptford. it's also an album i know few people will be aware of, its obscurity making it even more so appealing. indeed, "sam prekop" is something of a gem in the grey, unrelenting, realist, post-rock landscape.
dig it out.
(as reviewed by rich from junkboy)