This was another record purchased on a whim sometime in high school. The main selling point was the $2 price tag it boasted in the discount bin at Bizzy Bee in Naperville, IL, where I purchased records during my formative years. I had only heard of Seam through the fliers that covered my bedroom walls at my parents house, but I knew they were an indie rock band on Touch & Go Records and that was enough for me. I listened to this record constantly, finding more and more things to love about it. The laid back, almost bouncy riffs, singer Sooyoung Park's breathy, hushed vocals and the simple leads that often get stuck in my head the way vocal melodies normally would. Seam only really seems to get their due within a certain, select facet of the indie rock community, but The Pace is Glacial (along with the rest of their discography) is essential listening for the genre.
A few years ago Touch & Go celebrated their 25th anniversary and Seam reunited to play on the final day of the weekend. It was a rainy, grey fall afternoon and by that point in the day the numbers dwindled because of the weather and the previous two days of shows, but Seam was great. They played almost everything I wanted to hear and they looked like they were having a great time. It was absolutely worth getting rained on and possibly the perfect accompaniment to their song selection.
Seam - The Pace is Glacial
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3 comments:
I'm glad you posted this! I first heard Seam when they opened for The Poster Children at Metro back in 92 or 93. I tried to see them every opportunity I had from there on out mostly in Champaign but a few times after I moved to Chicago before they split up.
I saw Sooyoung up in the balcony at The Riv at a Dinosaur Jr. show later that year. He was passing out flyers at the end of the night in the venue lobby and I'm pretty sure I still have that flyer somewhere.
Seam did a reunion show at an Asian-American show at Abbey Pub a few years prior to the Touch & Go thing. Really a quality life moment seeing them back even if temporarily!
Have you listened to Ee yet? I have an album and it's really solid. For whatever reason I never looked up Bitch Magnet even though it always sounded like something I'd be into. Have you?
I wish I would have known about the show at Abbey Pub! I definitely would have liked to go to that.
I need to check out Ee. That's Sooyoung's newer band right? I've never listened to Bitch Magnet either actually even though I feel I'd probably be into them as well. I have a tendency to gloss over certain things like that as I age - New and old bands of people I'm already into. It seems like an easy transition into new things I will probably like but I'm oddly stubborn about it, then I kick myself for not checking it out sooner.
Thanks - this is great!
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