You could call it ambush pop, if you like. Like the proverbial cake with
a file inside, it's camouflaged by a sweet, innocuous facade, but under the
rich strings, mesmerising piano melodies and the occasional flourish of mandolin,
tin whistle or something stranger, My Friend the Chocolate Cake smuggle some
of the most potent themes and sentiments found in contemporary pop. HOME
IMPROVEMENTS is the fifth studio album by the Melbourne acoustic
ensemble since they formed, as a side project to Not Drowning Waving, in
1989. As always, it's an incredible study in contrasts, from sumptuous orchestral
pop songs to fragile ambience; from wild, exotic instrumentals to poignant
and potent Australian stories from the 'burbs and the outback. "They're all
parts of what this band does," shrugs singer-pianist David Bridie. "Sometimes
it really belts, other times it's beautifully layered pop and other times
you can hear a pin drop. We've been doing it for 17 years now. You get to
know yourself after a while. With this album I think we've learned to really
appreciate what we have."
Much of the Cake's mercurial brilliance is evident between the first two
tracks. "Hymn for the Carnies" is a slow, cinematic pan across a summer fairground:
a melancholy melody weaves through the colourful carnival images as if to
reveal the secret hearts of the folks who keep the Ferris wheel turning.
"Home Improvements" is another skilled sketch of modern day ambivalence.
Its universal daydream of escape recalls the band's hit of '94, "I've Got
A Plan", but its dancing pizzicato and huge, cascading, car radio chorus
disguise a howl of exasperation from the treadmill of consumer culture.
Then there's the unabashed indulgence of "She Dreams All Different Colours",
a stage-trashing rocker in the tradition of "Throwing It Away"; and "Pentecostal
Girl", a comical childhood romance moulded into some of the sweetest pop
in the Cake repertoire. "It's a great band for pop songs," says David. "It's
great having the strings and we got into backing vocals in a big way this
time. We wanted to really complete the songs, which we haven't always given
ourselves the time to do. We weren't over finicky but we made sure every
song was fully realised." That said, "We're not afraid to keep it sparse
either, to let the texture of the strings come through, let a piano note
ring out, or let a vocal phrase linger." Hence the huge, empty atmospheres
of "5 Sisters" and "The Weather Coast", two songs of place so evocative you
can almost catch the crickets and touch the fog. "The Weather Coast is a
real place, in the Solomon Islands, south of Honiara," David says. "It's
a phenomenal place, dark clouds, 80 per cent rainfall to sunshine, black
volcanic sand, really dense jungle. It's a really cool groove to play. That's
Greg's forte. Dean sets it up, too."
Double bassist Dean Addison is the new kid in the band, relatively speaking.
Drummer Greg Patten joined in '94; cellist Helen Mountfort, violinist Hope
Csutoros, guitarist Andrew Richardson and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Carswell
have been part of the Cake's wide spectrum of instrumental colours from the
outset. Together they effortlessly fine-tune the familiar ache of David's
journalistic social sketches - "This Life Tonight", "Seek", "Let's Go Walk
This Town"; the rhythmic global invocations of Helen's "Athletes of Persia";
and the resonant, filmic ambience of the closing instrumental, "Malaise".
And still there's new ground to break, from the hell-for-leather swamp rock
of Hope's dramatic "Opus Lagavulin" to the island string band romp of "J
Patap", a song borrowed, story, style and energy, from the Junior Devil String
Band of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. "I'm really happy with the way the record
works in terms of the moods it creates," says David. "For me as a lyricist,
it's the best band you could hope to write for cause the instrumentation
and personalities are so strong. The weighty side of Chocolate Cake has always
been prominent in what we do but ultimately, these songs are a hell of a
lot of fun to play."
MFTCC Timeline
1989 Band forms for casual Sunday night residency in
Melbourne.
1991 Debut album, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, accredited Gold.
1994 Brood album spawns radio staple, "I've Got a Plan", wins ARIA for Best
Adult Contemporary Album.
1996 Good Luck album wins second Best Adult Contemporary ARIA.
1998 Live at The National Theatre CD.
1999 19 Easy Pieces: a selection of film works, B-sides and oddments.
2002 Fourth studio album, Curious.
2004 Parade: The Best of My Friend The Chocolate Cake, includes three new
songs.
2005 All seven albums re-issued by Liberation.
2007 Home Improvements released through Liberation.
G'day Chocie Cake crew! You guys have the most eclectic top friends around. Just borrowing 'Home Improvements' again, such a cheeky song, wrapped in a cute melody. Enjoy the 'Fringe', lucky Edinburgh. Let them eat cake. Shalom!
hello on the other side of the world. i love your band. i play your music at my coffee shop so that other people can hear and love you too. perhaps someday you will come play in atlanta. :)
Um. So you're heading to Edinburgh. It only makes sense for you to stop in the States on your way back, and finally play over here. Yes, that makes perfect sense. I can even set up the most perfect, tiny, intimate venue in Baltimore for you. Aaaargh, when will I ever see you perform live again???
Art Groupie is on again this year in Sydney town. Below is info for those that may be interested in participating or know someone that might.
The concept behind Art Groupie is musicians who crossover into visual art. We do this project for fun and take no profit, but give back to the artists involved.
We ask that at least 5 images (no less than two) be emailed to us for selection. Email to dadada [at] groovescooter.com
Submissions close on Monday June 30.
Each artist is required (after selection) to supply us with their art work for hanging. Art groupie take No fee or commission, however the gallery does - usually around 25%. Artist are responsible for costs of postage of their pieces to and from the show. We ask each artist to name the price that they want for their piece and they get all money back (bar gallery commission). We also ask artists to try and keep the price of work to a reasonable amount so that it is accessible for people to purchase. The last time we capped it at $500, but are looking at a cap of no more than $1000 this time around.
When the decision is made on the art we will then move onto the music component. Each person is asked to contribute a track (free of licensing/publishing fees - these CDs are giveaways and not for sale). The reason we do the discs is so that people can see the art you produce and hear the music you make. We understand that some artist might be tied to a contract, so ask that they supply us with a track that is free of any legal obligations to their label or publishers. The CD is a momento (and only limited numbers will be available) it will be under the dadAdA imprint on Groovescooter Records. Each artist that is in the show receives a free copy of course!
If you are keen then please feel free to email some images through. Here are some images from the last exhibition Art Groupie @ Myspace
hey i wrote a massive email about my love for you guys as a child....sadly without reply. however i was recently conversing with tosca loyd and we have the appreciation in common, it was good. come back to wollongong!!!
hey Helen, David, Andrew and Andrew, Greg, Xani and sexy sexy oh my sexy Dean... do you have any plans to come up to Queensland or Northern NSW anytime soon?? We miss you!!!!
Had a great time at the amphitheatre today - it's exactly the type of gig I think Chocolate Cake was made for - casual, kids running round, a few beers in the sun and a chat and some music. It was our daughter's third birthday and her first MFTCC gig - hopefully we can bring her to a few more!
i stole a friend's ipod the other day and went looking through it to see what the most embarrising song she had on there was and i saw the words CHOCOLATE and CAKE and i just had to take a listen to it and i was in AWW =O
SOOO GOOD SOUND!!!! next time i'm up in melbourne and u guys r on i'm gonna come lookin for you! or else u could make my life a bit easier and come down to adelaide and play here and let EVERYONE KNOW HOW GOOD YOU GUYS ARE!...
Thanks for the add. I really appreciate it! I have been a fan of your music for so many years now and have a heap of your albums in my collection. You are some of the most truly gifted and talented musicians in Australia.
I'm so glad to hear you're playing at The Rose in Torquay!! I'm taking my family along for sure; I've grown up with your music and been to many of your gigs, I even remember the first time I saw you guys at Port Fairy when I was probably about 5!! Really looking forward to seeing you again!!
