It has been seven years since CAKE released an album. When a band takes this long a break between major releases it typically means one of two things. The first possibility is that they have rethought their entire sound and aesthetic and have through many long desert nights painstakingly wrought The New Sound, and have returned to share it with the world. Green Day did this when they made American Idiot. The second possibility is that they have lost their musical mojo, and that the album will be a disappointing travesty, a weak and hollow shadow of a band's previous excellence. Tool did this with 10,000 Days.
CAKE have done neither of these things. In the last seven years, the only thing CAKE have done is write more CAKE songs. The sounds has not changed. It has just become better.
How Showroom of Compassion differs from earlier CAKE albums really is inexplicable. Certainly the tough love trumpet solos are still there, as are the woahs and the heys in the background. The country twang hasn't disappeared. There are still references to motoring in the lyrics (even a reference to 'The Distance' in 'Mustache Man (Wasted)': "He is racing, he is pacing..."). The meaning of the lyrics is still unintelligible, but I can still read the underlying sarcasm. This is still music that envisions the white man's non-LA, non-SF Californialand.
But it's been modernised. 'Federal Funding' is a smarmy tirade against the extravagance of federal government bailouts. The sound is reminiscent of 'Comfort Eagle', and the slow head-banging rhythm is a veritable ton 'o fun. This album opener showcases CAKE's newfound respect for the synthesiser, which is getting much more of a run here than on previous releases. Actually, it's one of the most appropriate album openers I've seen in a while. It's representative.
There are a lot more songs that feature piano/synth more prominently than on previous albums. Again, not that CAKE have toned down the rock 'n roll any. On songs like 'Easy To Crash' and 'The Winter' the synth shares melodic duties with the guitar, sometimes alone, sometimes at the same time. It's a great mix.
As for new-but-the-same sound, see also 'Teenage Pregnancy'. A piano-driven instrumental in triple time, the piece is carried in turn by piano, trumpet, synth and guitar. Compare it to 'Arco Arena', an instrumental from 2001's Comfort Eagle, where the song rides along entirely on guitar. 'Teenage Pregnancy' has a lot to play around with, and that makes it listenable. It's not as if the band are doing anything particularly different in the sort of noise they're making. It's just that they're exploring better ways of making it.
Basically what it feels like CAKE has done is spend seven years writing and rewriting a whole bunch of songs, crafting them to perfection, and then finding the best possible selection of songs to make an album with. They aren't trying to do anything more with Showroom of Compassion than to record a whole bunch of amazing CAKE songs. Nothing much too far from what we know, no concept albums or any of that. The album starts to slow down in the last few tracks, but this in no way detracts from the releases' quality: these are all really enjoyable, tightly performed songs. Eminently listenable, either as a whole or shuffled into a playlist.
Four and a half stars.
MP3: CAKE - Federal Funding
MP3: CAKE - Easy To Crash
CAKE have done neither of these things. In the last seven years, the only thing CAKE have done is write more CAKE songs. The sounds has not changed. It has just become better.
How Showroom of Compassion differs from earlier CAKE albums really is inexplicable. Certainly the tough love trumpet solos are still there, as are the woahs and the heys in the background. The country twang hasn't disappeared. There are still references to motoring in the lyrics (even a reference to 'The Distance' in 'Mustache Man (Wasted)': "He is racing, he is pacing..."). The meaning of the lyrics is still unintelligible, but I can still read the underlying sarcasm. This is still music that envisions the white man's non-LA, non-SF Californialand.
But it's been modernised. 'Federal Funding' is a smarmy tirade against the extravagance of federal government bailouts. The sound is reminiscent of 'Comfort Eagle', and the slow head-banging rhythm is a veritable ton 'o fun. This album opener showcases CAKE's newfound respect for the synthesiser, which is getting much more of a run here than on previous releases. Actually, it's one of the most appropriate album openers I've seen in a while. It's representative.
There are a lot more songs that feature piano/synth more prominently than on previous albums. Again, not that CAKE have toned down the rock 'n roll any. On songs like 'Easy To Crash' and 'The Winter' the synth shares melodic duties with the guitar, sometimes alone, sometimes at the same time. It's a great mix.
As for new-but-the-same sound, see also 'Teenage Pregnancy'. A piano-driven instrumental in triple time, the piece is carried in turn by piano, trumpet, synth and guitar. Compare it to 'Arco Arena', an instrumental from 2001's Comfort Eagle, where the song rides along entirely on guitar. 'Teenage Pregnancy' has a lot to play around with, and that makes it listenable. It's not as if the band are doing anything particularly different in the sort of noise they're making. It's just that they're exploring better ways of making it.
Basically what it feels like CAKE has done is spend seven years writing and rewriting a whole bunch of songs, crafting them to perfection, and then finding the best possible selection of songs to make an album with. They aren't trying to do anything more with Showroom of Compassion than to record a whole bunch of amazing CAKE songs. Nothing much too far from what we know, no concept albums or any of that. The album starts to slow down in the last few tracks, but this in no way detracts from the releases' quality: these are all really enjoyable, tightly performed songs. Eminently listenable, either as a whole or shuffled into a playlist.
Four and a half stars.
MP3: CAKE - Federal Funding
MP3: CAKE - Easy To Crash
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