Confession time. I have always been something of a Cake fan. I still listen to “Fashion Nugget”, “Prolonging The Magic” or “Comfort Eagle”. A lot. So I was seriously looking forward to their new album “Showroom Of Compasion”, which offers the band’s first new material in nearly seven years. It was recorded in their solar-powered studio and comes in a case made of recycled paper and non toxic vegetable dyes. Yes, Cake has gone green on our asses!
Has anything else changed? Not really, the songs are still very much equipped with quirky twists, random shouting, McCrea’s singing/talking and that cool trumpet that always pops up at the right time. And yes, they still like to rock but will just as easily switch to mellow in the blink of an eye. Yet they are always funky as hell! Oh, and they managed to maintain that sense of humor I loved so much. They did however inject their songs with some subtle electronic sounds this time around. It adds just another layer to Cake’s vintage sound and blends in nicely.
“Long Time” is one of the album’s highlights with that tight rhythm and sweet backing vocals. The same thing can be said about “Sick Of You” or “Mustache Man (Wasted)” though. The latter of which starts off sounding a lot like “It’s Coming Down” before throwing in a trumpet on fire and veering off in another direction.
All in all “Showroom Of Compassion” was well worth the wait. It is yet another solid Cake album that longtime fans will definitely like and one that will hopefully introduce them to a whole bunch of younger kids who never had the pleasure of experiencing the sheer sense of joy that come from listening to “The Distance” or “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Upbeat Records
http://www.cakemusic.com
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