Often albums that do not initially impress me turn into deep, rewarding experiences. But what about those albums that impress me upon first listen, only to fall flat on subsequent spins? Sadly, the new Cake album falls into this latter category. It may have been the seven year wait since their last release that overwhelmed me with anticipation, as I was jamming to Showroom of Compassion the first time around. But, alas, once the shine and sparkle of the long-awaited new album wore off, we are left with an album that can only be described as safe.
If you have ever listened to Cake, then you have heard this album. For the uninitiated ear, their sound can be hard to describe, as it is informed by a vast array of genres, ranging from country to rap to rock. This formula should seemingly provide endless possibilities for the creation of original music. Yet, despite some variation, their style is still firmly rooted in a form of alternative rock. But where the older albums provided substantial variations upon their signature style, Showroom of Compassion merely revisits, but does not evolve upon these old albums, much like 2004's Pressure Chief.
The single, ""Sick of You,"" is a laughably mediocre song that sounds like another attempt at ""Short Skirt/Long Jacket."" Cake is known for their sing-a-long lyrics, but this borders on children's music, and it's too bad the music is a bore as well. They continue this annoying repetitious style of singing throughout the entirety of the album. Aside from ""Sick of You,"" which includes ""I'm so sick of you"" spoken seemingly eight million times, ""Got to Move"" and ""Easy to Crash"" are built on similar structures that repeat their titles to infinity. The constant ""yeah's"" and ""ha's,"" a Cake trademark, are also overused throughout the album.
""Bound Away"" is another contender for the worst song on the album. A country song nearly identical to Prolonging the Magic's ""Mexico,"" ""Bound Away"" may as well contain the lyrics, ""I'm going off to Mexico."" In fact, this song nearly embodies my biggest criticism of this album. Cake fans will no doubt find various moments in this album that call to mind older and better Cake songs. There are no surprising bouts of dissonance like ""Open Book"" or hard rocking songs like ""Comfort Eagle.""
The keyboards are the saving grace of the album. They are what ultimately save many of the songs from descending below mediocrity. ""Teenage Pregnancy"" is far and away the best song on the album, a vocals-free track that instead focuses on using keyboards. Beginning with a clean piano and eventually turning to a 90s computer game synth, the song culminates into a much too short deviation from the normal album that is equal parts profound and hip.
Perhaps Cake should spend less time updating their site with snarky world issue posts and work on evolving their music. To spend seven years between albums and release a sub-par emulation of their previous work is truly unfortunate. It is especially unfortunate, as 2001's Comfort Eagle is among my favorite albums of all time. Hip, catchy, and unique, it was Cake at their creative peak. 10 years later, Showroom of Compassion sees Cake at a creative standstill, in which they are merely replicating old sounds despite the possibilities inherent in their melting pot of influences.
