In their nearly 20-year career, The Sea and Cake have not only maintained incredible consistency in sound and quality, but have also shown incredible versatility. Named after a mishearing of “the ‘C’ in ‘Cake,’” the Chicago-based quartet avoids the labels of genre (although post-indie-breathy-jazz-rock-fusion is a start)—The Sea and Cake are equally suited to background music in Starbucks, a trendy clothing store, a cool friend’s mix-tape, or an easy-listening Pandora station. Between its affiliations (to varying degrees) with post-rock patriarchs Tortoise, post-hardcore heroes Slint, post-country champion Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and a slew of other poster children of ‘post,’ The Sea and Cake has superseded nearly every genre but ‘Good Music’ (look for it in the bargain section of HMV).

With Runner, The Sea and Cake depart from their previous (i.e., post-Biz) material. Here, members Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt dip their fingers into samba-spiced coffee shop strummers and ethereal synth-scapes. When these two flavours appear in the same bite, the results fall mostly flat—see folk throwaway “Harbor Bridges.” When the band segregates its echoplexed and nylon-stringed sides, like on the looped and loopy “The Invitations,” the result is clearly a case of divided-they-fall. Runner’s highlights, though, gallop right out the gate. Opener “On and On” is the breeziest breath the band has ever taken, while “Harps” is easily the group’s most viral melody since Prekop figured out how to plug his piano into a computer.

As a consistent sampler by a consistent band, Runner earns its spot in The Sea and Cake’s ‘C’ in canon.