Cake

Some things never change and Cake may be one of them. They’re one of those bands whose music is instantly recognisable — the low, casual talk/singing of front-man John McCrea backed by heavy bass, catchy guitar riffs and the occasional trumpet, all slathered in that quirky "take ’r easy” attitude evident in the band’s many lyrical wordplays and inanities. That’s pretty much the standard Cake formula. So, it isn’t too surprising that the band’s latest release, B-Sides And Rarities, is just more of the same. The album is made up of seven covers and four original tunes, all pretty ho-hum, business-as-usual Cake fare. The record opens with a cover of Black Sabbath’s 1970 anti-war anthem "War Pigs” and although Cake’s interpretation is adequate it seems entirely passionless compared to the original, with that big "fuck you!” guitar riff behind Ozzy’s monster vocals. They’ve also put together a cover of that old Muppet Show novelty song "Mahna, Mahna.” Raise your hand if you wanted to hear that song ever again. What you’ve got here are some sub-par, badly chosen covers and a couple of Cake songs that are just okay. "It’s Coming Down” is an example of the latter, a sort of Yellow Submarine-era Beatles-esque tune with a tambourine and some nice back-up vocals. It’s all right but it didn’t make my day or anything. Neither did the re-release of "Short Skirt, Long Jacket,” track ten on B-Sides and Rarities. We’ve heard it before, guys; I’m bored.