Review: CAKE- Showroom of Compassion

Buying this album at work was an odd experience. I'd come in just for it as Cake are one of my favorite bands. I'd been anticipating this album since last fall and when I saw them on New Year's Eve, it made me long for the album even more. At least two coworkers said "really, Cake are still around"? Yeah, they're still around and they really haven't changed a damn thing either. They're responsible for my favorite New Year's Eve ever and are a band that I've always enjoyed since I was young and saw the video for "Sheep Go To Heaven" on MTV. Though it's been seven years since their last proper album, they haven't missed a beat even if we missed them.

You know what a Cake song is right off the bat. John McCrea half sings/half talks, there's bitchin' guitar, and there's trumpets. The album has all this and like every album they've had, it has an awesome leading single in "Sick of You". "Sick of You" is classic Cake through and through complete with a chorus that's going to be fun for everyone to sing when they play your nearest music hall. And did I mention sing a long choruses and trumpets? Because "Long Time" will easily do the trick complete with its trip-hop beat done McCrea style.

"Federal Funding" is the album's first cut and is in a lo-fi demeanor, it would be the perfect Pavement song if you wouldn't be able to tell McCrea's voice, which is one of the most unforgettable in Alt Rock. "Mustache Man" should be the second single off this album as its pretty recognizable for the band and sounds very, very similar to first single "Sick of You". And there lies the problem with Cake's music sometimes.

Truthfully, they're not breaking any new ground here despite the claims that there would be "acoustic piano" and "reverb". Going to a lo-fi sound hasn't changed much with these guys, it still sounds like the same band who made "Comfort Eagle" or "Fashion Nugget". The album also builds a similar structure between a manic opener, first single in the middle, a vocal-less track (Teenage Pregnancy is one of the best songs they've put to tape), and two songs to close the album that should've been rearranged. But if it ain't broke don't fix it right? They've been doing it for 20 years, they shouldn't stop now.

"The Winter" is the second to last track on the LP and is probably the best song on the album. McCrea accompanies his personal (or as personal as he'll ever get) lyrics with piano to another trippy beat with awesome trumpet. Before that, we get "Bound Away", which I first heard on New Year's Eve which is almost as stellar as "The Winter", the horn section on this album sound like they could be mixed in with a Norteno band. It's easily the most smileriffic track on the album and boasts the best qualities and playing of the group itself.

Time will tell where Cake's place in rock history stands. They're as reliable as a rock band as you can find in the 21st century and keep making good albums and releasing good singles. It's hard to find a group who is this consistent. After a seven year wait for an album, it was worth it. No they're not changing the earth with their songs and they haven't broken any new ground, but the beauty of the band is that they don't have to, and that's pretty much why they've been successful and a band I'll always support.

**** out of *****

Review: The Decemberists- The King Is Dead

Why everyone saw "The Hazards of Love" as a dissapointment is beyond me. Yeah, the stoner metal riffs are a bit silly and the narrative was as hard to follow as all hell, but damned if you didn't feel it, and if you've really listened to a Decemberists album, you've felt it. It being that feeling of home, of live, of loss, and of needing to find a dictionary to figure out what Colin Meloy just said. There's no riffs here, they've seemed to be replaced with harmonicas, and while there isn't a elaborate story to be had, Meloy still sings like he just took a turn of the century english class, yes folks, it's back to basics, and the band brings "it".

Before the release, Meloy had been propping this up as a record indebted to the Godfathers of Alt-Rock in R.E.M., surely the vibe is here and it's not just Peter Buck's guitar playing (yes, he's on the album), but it's also the songs of love, being misunderstood, and feelings of being the only one on earth that understands what is going on. Michael Stipe was the king of witty, over your head lyrics, Meloy understands that, tries to one up it, and while he doesn't, he succeeds at doing more than a passable job of it.

"Don't Carry It All" is the first track off the album and lays the groundwork perfectly on what to expect. You get accordians, harmonicas, and arena rock songs done in folksy bravado. It's a weird mixture, but it works. It's heartland music, and I think I hear a celtic influence, maybe it's a lute, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. "Calamity Song" is a romper, almost as if you're supposed to get your boots on and go stepping, make no mistake, under the right name, this song is probably a nice country hit and sung by a female, it would probably top the charts.

Two of the album's highlights come in the middle of the album, with most of us having heard the songs several times over before the whole thing was released. "Rox In The Box" is the formula of the album done to perfection. Dueling male and female voices on the chorus are prime to show what the band has done well since their inception. This song has a damn accordian solo for fuck sake, but it never sounds as pretentious as it should, in fact, the song would probably suck without it.

First single "Down By The Water" is the album's other great highlight. If the band ever wrote something remotely close to a single, this is it. It's not as much a single as it is something that would be at home on Springsteen's "Nebraska" or "The River", though I'm guessing that's the point with many bands these days as many of them seem to become indebted to the arena spectacle of The Boss or The Fake Dylan Springsteen. Either way, it's fine and easy to get behind, much like The Boss himself.

Unlike most of the output from the band, there really aren't many wasted moments, "The King Is Dead" is a 10 song, 40 minute collection of songs that the band has always been capable of writing. That being said, there's no wasted time in the albums second half. Even "This Is Why We Fight", the album's longest cut at just over five minutes feels like it belongs and would weaken the album without its inclusion, it's also probably the closest the band gets to a "rocker" on the album which isn't saying much at all. Meanwhile "Dear Avery", the following track and album closer, is a somber piece of music and exactly the type of beautifully written tune that The Decemberists can always turn to. They're quite good at it when they want to be, this track is no exception.

It would be unfair to call "The King Is Dead" the first great album of 2011. It's not a great album, but it's still a very worthy album to stand alongside everything they've done. The next 11 months will tell if it'll stand, but for now, you won't find a better album to engage cold nights and early spring weather. Most bands go back to their basics and fall flat, The Decemberists went back and proved they're still capable and show why they're always relevant within the Alt-Rock world. They're a gateway to those of us who were young when R.E.M. were the kings. Now there isn't a king. Is the king really dead? Not really, but neither are The Decemberists ability to craft excellent music.

**** out of *****