Cake – Showroom of Compassion
Sacramento band Cake’s release of Showroom of Compassion is one of the first major album releases of the year, and my first choice for album release of the week. I’ve admittedly only heard a few Cake tracks before, like “The Distance” and their fitting cover of “War Pigs”, but the band’s sound in these few songs piqued my interest.
Showroom of Compassion is Cake’s first release since Pressure Chief in 2004. Upon listening to the first half of the album, it seems that the band’s sound hasn’t changed for the most part since Fashion Nugget, circa 1996, despite band member John McCrea's promise of a "very different" sound. Fans of the band can rest assured that their ‘90s alternative pop, trumpet heavy sound is alive and well. One of the first thoughts that came to mind was that the first half or so of the album seemed a bit repetitive in song structure. Upon the sixth track “Teenage Pregnancy”, however, things take a turn for the different as they showcase a mellow instrumental tune that features incredibly fitting use of keyboard straight out of the 80s/90s. With different bands, the inclusion of the keyboard’s sound may not have been considered appropriate, and perhaps incredibly cheesy and overdone. After “Teenage Pregnancy”, the tracks seem to branch out into different sounds, for example the country sounds of “Bound Away”, or the orchestral pop sound of “Italian Guy”. The album isn’t exactly rich in lyrical content, but does provide an admittedly short 40 minute presentation of Cake’s unique 90’s alt pop/ska sound that many fans enjoy.MY RATING: 3/5
FAVORITE TRACKS: “Long Time”, “Teenage Pregnancy”
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: “Federal Funding”
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