CAKE * SHOWROOM OF COMPASSION
(Upbeat Records)
Wait. Cake has a new album? Really? Let's take a look at what was going on the last time the loveable dessert-named quintet released new material:
1 - John Kerry was a Presidential hopeful
2 - Hurricane Katrina had yet to happen
3 - Evanescence was popular
Yeah, it's been 7 long years since John McCrea & company released Pressure Chief....and 7 short years since we all escaped Bring Me To Life. Cake's jump back into modern music was a slow and steady one, with Showroom of Compassion taking almost 2 years to write & record (all within Cake's earth-friendly studio, powered 100% by solar energy). A few months ago, the album's first single "Sick of You," started making its rounds, and upon first listen, I was immediately reminded why Cake has always struck a chord with me. Fuzzy guitars, bold trumpets, and that ever-present vibraslap were all there, along with McCrea's oh-so-noticeable talk-sing style. Despite McCrea's claims that this wouldn't be a typical Cake record, the first single proved otherwise...and that's ideal.
Starting off the album is "Federal Funding," a purposefully restrained tune that really feels like an appetizer...one of those small ones...like when you only get a half-dozen mozzarella sticks and all 6 people in your group want one. You know you're going to have to be patient with that first nibble, but it will all be ok because you know the courses that follow will fill you up and satisfy you more than additional mozzarella sticks could...the same mozzarella sticks that the jerks around you are consuming so feverishly....even though it was YOUR idea to order the mozzarella sticks in the first place. Yeah, that kind of appetizer.
Patience is a virtue, and Showroom of Compassion rewards that throughout. From the welcome back opening of "Long Time" where McCrea sheepishly declares "It's been a long time since I've seen your smiling face," to the poignant reflection of "The Winter," Cake gives us exactly what we want. Standing out above all the rest, though, is "Got To Move," with its [intentional?] ode to "A Groovy Kind of Love" (yeah, the Phil Collins version).
Despite the fact that a couple of the tracks seem a tad unfinished (which is surprising given the years that were put into recording), make it a priority to give this album some time. Seven years after Pressure Chief, it's as if Cake never left.
Grade: A-
Starting off the album is "Federal Funding," a purposefully restrained tune that really feels like an appetizer...one of those small ones...like when you only get a half-dozen mozzarella sticks and all 6 people in your group want one. You know you're going to have to be patient with that first nibble, but it will all be ok because you know the courses that follow will fill you up and satisfy you more than additional mozzarella sticks could...the same mozzarella sticks that the jerks around you are consuming so feverishly....even though it was YOUR idea to order the mozzarella sticks in the first place. Yeah, that kind of appetizer.
Patience is a virtue, and Showroom of Compassion rewards that throughout. From the welcome back opening of "Long Time" where McCrea sheepishly declares "It's been a long time since I've seen your smiling face," to the poignant reflection of "The Winter," Cake gives us exactly what we want. Standing out above all the rest, though, is "Got To Move," with its [intentional?] ode to "A Groovy Kind of Love" (yeah, the Phil Collins version).
Despite the fact that a couple of the tracks seem a tad unfinished (which is surprising given the years that were put into recording), make it a priority to give this album some time. Seven years after Pressure Chief, it's as if Cake never left.
Grade: A-
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