Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Sam Prekop (vocals, guitar, piano); Archer Prewitt (guitar, piano); Jim O'Rourke (guitar, organ, bass, background vocals);
Julie Pomerleau (violin, viola); Rob Mazurek (cornet); Josh Abrams (piano, bass); Chad Taylor, John McEntire (percussion).
Recorded at Solid Sound, Hoffman Estates, Illinois; Steam Room Studios, Chicago, Illinois.
Whether you call it space pop, bachelor pad or whatever, Chicago's Sam Prekop has got it mastered. For his self-titled debut album, he has gathered together members of the Thrill Jockey-Drag City axis, including Josh Abrams, Jim O'Rourke and fellow Sea And Cake member Archer Prewitt for a set of easygoing pop songs. Drawing on '60s and Brazilian pop, jazz and ambient music, they create atmospheres that are both emotionally and intellectually satisfying.
Prekop sings in a sort of half falsetto that floats above the music lending an air of detachment without feeling disjointed. One of the most impressive aspects of this recording, however, is the orchestration. "Faces And People" is a hypnotizing mix of early Pink Floyd and ambient new age. The strings on "Showrooms" add to the atmosphere, and the cornet in "Practice Twice" sounds like it's been there since the beginning of time.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (3/4/99, p.88) - 3 1/2 Stars (out of 5) - "...an insidiously seductive exercise in chill-out cool; the best tracks brush-up against you like a gentle breeze....quiet storms from quasi-samba beats, swelling strings, cascading melodies and his own whispered vocals...this album shimmers..."

Q (5/99, p.112) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...languid and burned-out, with not much singing, it's another excellent if unnervingly diffident addition to the post-rock academy..."

The Wire (4/99, pp.69-70) - "...bright, shimmering quality...derived from an infusion of jazz...

Muzik (4/9, p.108) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...understated triumph from America's avant-rock scene....flow into a world of mid-West ambience, elegiac acoustic pluckings and Beta-Band-on-ether fluffiness. Unusual name, strange greatness."

CMJ (1/10/00, p.7) - Ranked #30 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999]."

CMJ (2/15/99, p.5) - "...an evolutionary step for the multi-faceted musician....takes a more organic approach, employing delicate guitar interplay, resonant bass and minimal percussion..."

Album: Sam Prekop
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Showrooms
2)	Company, The
3)	Practice Twice
4)	Cloud To The Back, A
5)	Don't Bother
6)	Faces And People
7)	On Such Favors
8)	Shadow, The
9)	Smaller Rivers
10)	So Shy

Album: Sam Prekop
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Showrooms
2)	Company, The
3)	Practice Twice
4)	Cloud To The Back, A
5)	Don't Bother
6)	Faces And People
7)	On Such Favors
8)	Shadow, The
9)	Smaller Rivers
10)	So Shy