pitchfork music festival, live update 2:3

who’d have figured the sea & cake for a crackling rock band? On record their songs are expertly manicured, the product of close attention and careful workmanship. I figured they would stiff live, but just the opposite is true. They’re twitching with a nervous energy, tumbling forward and jerking in place. The drums are what’s driving everything, thick, whalloping rhythms through which nimble litttle solos dart and weave; the songs build to grand cascades, moments where all the instruments hit – loudly – at once, scattered crescendos to release all the building tension. The vocals, too, which are unobtrusive on record here sound wry and ragged. It’s a surprisingly vibrant set, something the periodic fits of applause only serves to affirm.