We Went There: Sam Prekop and John McEntire at The Cedar
Sons of by former Sea and Cake bandmates Sam Prekop and John McEntire was one of my favorite records of 2022, and I’ve went back to the cassette I have of it often over the last few years, letting myself get lost in the sinewy beats and lush soundscapes. Sometimes records you love in the moment fade over time, either losing their luster via your listening preference or sounding dated and tied to a specific time and space, but this is a record that actually has grown in intrigue for me.
This development, my initial love of the album and it’s growth into a staple of my rotation, made it even more exciting and surprising to see the duo was touring and would be building off this great record. Their show Thursday at the Cedar was as good as I expected, showing the austere and verdant sounds the two make out of a table of modular synths.
After a solid opening set by local electronic musician White Dune, who played skittish and soulful house music, the duo can on state with minimal fanfare and dove right into their set. Starting with a low synth him and scattered beeps and boops, the two explored their collection of synths and machines, building up the sound into a rhythmatic march.
Looking a bit like hipster college professors, they blended competing bass lines and hypnotic synth loops, all of which sounded euphoric through the Cedar’s sound system. Unlike many other electronic shows, the band didn’t mess around with any visuals or light shows, instead letting the music speak for itself.
You wouldn’t have been able to tell from the focused, almost bored demeanor from the duo, but the music eddied and flowed from joyous to propulsive to contemplative. It was a tour de force of electronic music that stayed teetering on the edge of bliss throughout the set. The sounds were at time buoyed by four on the floor drum machine loops, other times by beats created on electronic drums.
It was an evening of sound that transfixed the crowd, showcasing two artists who utilized their decades of musical ability into a muscular locomotive of electronic soundscapes. I was so glad to be able to hear the duo live after all these years of listening to their record (I’m not sure if I previously missed them touring behind the record?) and the set lived up to my lofty expectations. Now I just hope they continue creating music and we get another LP to add to the collection.
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