In 2015 or 2016, one of those two years, ‘Jacking the Ball’ by The Sea and Cake appeared on my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify. I was on my year out of university getting some industry work in, it was nearing the end of the day and there wasn’t much that needed to be done. The last two hours were usually Spotify playlist time. I remember it sounding good when I first heard it. It may have appeared another on the list a few times afterwards. But I guess I forgot about it for a while.

Fast forward to 2017 during my last few months in university and for some reason the fact that it existed popped into my head. I searched for it on YouTube and there it was. I couldn’t listen to it as loudly because my ears had recently started this ringing noise that has gone on to this day. Nevertheless, the track still sounded as good as it did when I was sitting in the work office the previous year.

It’s hard to say what ‘Jacking the Ball’ is about. After listening to The Sea and Cake’s self-titled debut from 1994, which ‘Jacking the Ball’ opens, I gathered that they were the type of band who worked on some grooves and jams and once they got the right instrumental they put some lyrics on top with a good melody. Many of their albums are very groove-based. If you’re into that sort of stuff you should definitely try their discography out. The lyrics here don’t really mean anything but are more about evoking feelings, images and emotions. The guitar riff is definitely the track’s best part. So catchy and relaxed. I’m a fan of Sam Prekop’s vocal delivery too.

I’ve deduced that the track is a kind of ‘us against the world’ track. Hanging out with friends and having the best times and feeling like you’re kings of the world. There’s no lyrical sign that signifies that. That’s just my take.