Lost gem + Fun with 90s indie rock: Seam
I noticed yesterday that Touch and Go Records added Seam’s video highlights with songs/ interview from the Touch and Go 25th Anniversary Celebration (and there are photos too). It reminded me that I was meaning to post about Seam.
I’ve always liked Seam. Actually that’s ridiculous. I liked Seam from the first time I heard them.
I know when I heard Seam for the first time: July 1997 on the Lounge Ax and Relocation and Defense Fund CD. I’d gotten it because it had a bunch of bands my friend Colin had talked about: Sebadoh was probably the only one I actually knew, but it also included many bands I’d heard of including Superchunk, Tortoise, and the Coctails. Soon I bought The Problem with Me and I remember one of the first (indie rock) CDs I looked forward to being released was The Place is Glacial.
Seam - the Prizefighters (mp3, from the Lounge Ax Relocation and Defense Fund CD)
Seam was never a band I was entirely obsessed with[1]. Sooyoung Park and company always simmered under the surface for me. Seam may not get constant plays on my iTunes but I like it every time I hear it. There’s a sense of melody in both the vocals and the instrumentals. The guitar parts are engaging and show very good tension and release. There are also minimalist tendencies that border on post rock or even classical minimalism at times.
Seam - Berlitz (mp3, from Are You Driving Me Crazy)
Seam - Get Higher (mp3, from The Place is Glacial)
Seam - Bunch (mp3, from The Problem with Me)
They stopped playing frequently shortly after the Pace is Glacial and, though they never offically broke up, I don’t think, they only played in Korea about once a year from about 2001 on for a couple years. They “reunited” once for that T&G 25th Anniversary Celebration last September.
Seam - Little Chang, Big City (mp3, from The Pace is Glacial)
These days Sooyoung is playing with Bay Area band, ee, which released their most recent album late last year.
Bonus video: “Berlitz” from that T&G 25th Anniversary Celebration
Buy Seam records from insound. I recommend starting with the Problem with Me (which insound has for $9.99).
[1] Though I should note that I liked them enough to invent a game called the Seven Degrees of Sooyoung Park, where all the connections were bands playing or touring with each other. I think one of my better connections was Seam->Superchunk (Mac played drums for Seam on their first album)->Cypress Hill (Lollapalooza)->Bob Dylan (Woodstock 94). Sooyoung Park to Bob Dylan in 3 steps!
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:45 pm
[…] The New Year was up next. As I said, I hadn’t heard of them before this concert. They’re a five piece, I think: three guitars (one of which switches to keyboard sometimes), bass, drums. They sort of remind me of early Pedro the Lion and of Seam (who I just posted about.) Pedro the Lion for the interlocking lines from all the different instruments and Seam for some of the same, plus the quiet vocals, the sense of melody in the loud parts. The mix was good and the band put on an enjoyable set, even for someone that didn’t know any of their songs. […]
December 5th, 2007 at 9:40 am
[…] Their sound reminds me other guitar-based post rock bands, Mogwai for example, but also of the instrumental moments of Seam (who I like quite a lot). In fact Sun Protection Factor (SPF! get it??) lists both of these bands among their influences. (Interesting, they also list Steve Reich, my favorite minimalist composer. Listen to Tehilim II or III some time–good stuff.) […]