The Biz

Bands like Tortoise helped usher in a mellower wave for the ‘90s Chicago scene, but the Sea and Cake — which brought together Tortoise drummer John McEntire with Shrimp Boat members Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge, and Coctails guitarist Archer Prewitt — were the band that leaned in most fully to their chillest impulses, conjuring a timelessly hip brand of jazz- and soul-inflected pop, a new strain of easy listening for a crowd accustomed to having their eardrums battered at post-hardcore gigs. The Biz was an early peak for the band, where they found a way to balance balmy, synth-kissed textures with wiry funk underpinnings, stirring in songwriting smarts clearly informed by classic R&B to produce some of the loveliest indie-rock-adjacent tunes of the era.