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05 August 2005 |
Cake
Pressure Chief (Columbia)
When you think about cake -- you know, that fluffy white and frosted stuff -- you usually conjure up visions of kids blowing out candles or brides and grooms smiling brightly. But Cake -- the group, not the dessert -- is not nearly so celebratory. Led by John McCrea's deadpan vocals, this outfit presents eclectic music put to pointedly observational lyrics.
A good example of this oddly unique perspective is called "Dime," which looks at the world from the unusual perspective of one small silver American coin. And much like the even lesser valued change piece below it, the penny, the dime has fallen on hard currency times. Sample lines: "They won't even pick me up/Because I'm not enough for a local phone call." In another place, McCrea complains about air pollution with "Carbon Monoxide." With "No Phone," McCrea goes to great lengths to bemoan the inconveniences of modern day conveniences. "No phone, No phone/I just want to be alone today." This CD's strangest song, however, is called "End of the Movie," because it offers a unique perspective on the futility of suicide. It tells about all the awful things that happen to humans, all over picked acoustic guitar. "People you hate/Will get their hooks in you," McCrea reminds. Yet later, he states: "You still don't like to leave before the end of the movie."
It's difficult to compare what Cake does with the music of anybody else, since this band picks and chooses the edible musical forms it consumes from other people's plates. For instance, the trumpet plays into almost every track here, and a sneaky synth part is added to the otherwise straight cover of Bread's "Guitar Man". On "Waiting," acoustic guitar is placed over a soul percussion groove, and "She'll Hang the Baskets" mixes a twangy guitar interlude with steel guitar.
Nevertheless, this Cake is sweet alright -- even with all of its oddly mixed ingredients.
8.0 |
