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Cake (album)

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Cake
Studio album by
Released25 June 1990
StudioShabby Road Studios, Kilmarnock
GenreIndie pop, jangle pop
Length39:31
LabelGo!/London[1]
ProducerJohn Leckie, Roger Bechirian[2]
The Trash Can Sinatras chronology
Cake
(1990)
I've Seen Everything
(1993)

Cake is the debut studio album by Scottish pop/rock band the Trash Can Sinatras, released in 1990.[3][4]

The album peaked at No. 74 on the UK Albums Chart.[5]

Production

[edit]

The album was recorded at Shabby Road, the band's studio that was paid for with their record advance.[6]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
Record Mirror[9]

Johnny Dee of Record Mirror described Cake as an album with "lush, layered guitars that strum and chime" and also noted the "sharp-witted lyrics" which are "over-running with inspired metaphores and word-play". He felt the album suffered from "over production", where "a thick fog descends over some tracks when perhaps misty morning fluffiness was the desired effect". He concluded, "But little can spoil the sheer beauty of 'You Made Me Feel', 'Thrupenny Tears' or alert pop of 'Obscurity Knocks' and 'Best Man's Fall'. A cherry short of a gateaux but plenty of chocolate."[9]

Trouser Press described the album as "exceptionally good" and "pristine-sounding," writing that the producers add "an occasional light brush of cool jazz to the folky spines of the band's witty and agile tunes."[1] Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Loaded with bright splashes of guitar and vocal harmonies, the five-member Scottish group Trash Can Sinatras’ debut album is breezy pop with a backbeat and mercifully little attitude."[8] The Los Angeles Times called the album "tasty but hardly gripping."[10] The Washington Post wrote that Cake "crafts elegant neo-pop soundscapes from little more than vocal harmonies and chiming semi-acoustic guitar riffs and strums."[11] Time called it "an excellent brand of pub pop: simple, insinuating melodies, lyrics with propulsive good humor."[12]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Obscurity Knocks"4:13
2."Maybe I Should Drive"3:40
3."Thrupenny Tears"5:15
4."Even the Odd"3:25
5."The Best Man's Fall"3:43
6."Circling the Circumference"2:40
7."Funny"4:16
8."Only Tongue Can Tell"3:45
9."You Made Me Feel"4:10
10."January's Little Joke"4:47

Personnel

[edit]
The Trash Can Sinatras
  • Francis Reader - vocals
  • John Douglas, Paul Livingston - guitar
  • George McDaid - bass
  • Stephen Douglas - drums

with:

  • Clark Sorley - piano on "Maybe I Should Drive", "Thrupenny Tears" and "You Made Me Feel", keyboards on "Only Tongue Can Tell"
  • Ronnie Goodman - percussion on "Thrupenny Tears"
  • Audrey Riley - strings on "Thrupenny Tears" and "Funny"
  • Gavin McComb - cello on "The Best Man's Fall"
  • Clare Thompson - violin on "Only Tongue Can Tell"
  • Mags, Richeal Reader - backing vocals on "Circling the Circumference"

Charts

[edit]
2023 chart performance for Cake
Chart (2023) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 55

References

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  1. ^ a b "Trash Can Sinatras". Trouser Press. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 246.
  3. ^ "The Trash Can Sinatras | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "I'm Your Fan". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. 11 October 1999 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "TRASH CAN SINATRAS | full Official Chart History". www.officialcharts.com.
  6. ^ "Reviews: Trashcan Sinatras". The Quietus.
  7. ^ "Cake - The Trash Can Sinatras | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  8. ^ a b "Cake". EW.com.
  9. ^ a b Dee, Johnny (30 June 1990). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 16. ISSN 0144-5804.
  10. ^ "POP MUSIC REVIEW : Trash Can Sinatras Do It Their Way". Los Angeles Times. 22 December 1990.
  11. ^ Jenkins, Mark (27 February 1991). "RECORDINGS" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  12. ^ Reviewers, Time's (11 February 1991). "Critics' Voices: Feb. 11, 1991". Time – via content.time.com.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 December 2023.