“Comfort Eagle” Cake Compare to: Beck, The Eels, Soul Coughing ***

When bands haven’t released an album in three years, they often tend to release a CD because it is safe, thereby avoiding the chance of a flop or too much public scrutiny.

That seems to be the case with Cake’s first release on Columbia Records. “Comfort Eagle” is safe. Comfortable, if you will.

“Comfort Eagle” doesn’t stray far from the music they have made in the past, but the sound is much tighter. A few of the songs almost sound familiar.

Now this doesn’t mean it’s a bad CD. “Comfort Eagle” is quite the opposite, actually.

Cake has a very eclectic sound, showing influences in folk, soul, hip-hop and funk.

This formula results in a very original sound that is very hard to compare to other bands. They manage to successfully combine guitars, percussion, a trumpet, keyboards and even a moog synthesizer. The result is the ultimate feel-good CD.

The first single off the CD, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” is extremely radio friendly. Its catchy beat and repetitive lyrics make this song a sure-bet for TRL fame.

Upon first examination, a listener could easily mistake this song for what it isn’t.

It isn’t a song about a guy wanting a “girl with a mind like a diamond.” It is a song about a guy who wants a “girl with good dividends.”

This seems to be the underlying element in all of Cake’s songs – intelligent observations hidden behind amusing lyrics. It’s almost too easy to get caught up in the catchy chorus and miss the point of the song altogether.

Perhaps the best track on the CD is “Pretty Pink Ribbon.” This is one of the more rock-sounding songs on the CD. Something about this song makes it just so enjoyable. The mixture of the moog synthesizer, rough guitar riffs and blaring trumpet mixed with John McCrea’s distinct voice, make this song a favorite song to sing along with.

Other enjoyable tracks on “Comfort Eagle” include “Commissioning a Symphony in C” and “Meanwhile, Rick James . . .”

– Erin Randolph When bands haven’t released an album in three years, they often tend to release a CD because it is safe, thereby avoiding the chance of a flop or too much public scrutiny.

That seems to be the case with Cake’s first release on Columbia Records. “Comfort Eagle” is safe. Comfortable, if you will.

“Comfort Eagle” doesn’t stray far from the music they have made in the past, but the sound is much tighter. A few of the songs almost sound familiar.

Now this doesn’t mean it’s a bad CD. “Comfort Eagle” is quite the opposite, actually.

Cake has a very eclectic sound, showing influences in folk, soul, hip-hop and funk.

This formula results in a very original sound that is very hard to compare to other bands. They manage to successfully combine guitars, percussion, a trumpet, keyboards and even a moog synthesizer. The result is the ultimate feel-good CD.

The first single off the CD, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” is extremely radio friendly. Its catchy beat and repetitive lyrics make this song a sure-bet for TRL fame.

Upon first examination, a listener could easily mistake this song for what it isn’t.

It isn’t a song about a guy wanting a “girl with a mind like a diamond.” It is a song about a guy who wants a “girl with good dividends.”

This seems to be the underlying element in all of Cake’s songs – intelligent observations hidden behind amusing lyrics. It’s almost too easy to get caught up in the catchy chorus and miss the point of the song altogether.

Perhaps the best track on the CD is “Pretty Pink Ribbon.” This is one of the more rock-sounding songs on the CD. Something about this song makes it just so enjoyable. The mixture of the moog synthesizer, rough guitar riffs and blaring trumpet mixed with John McCrea’s distinct voice, make this song a favorite song to sing along with.

Other enjoyable tracks on “Comfort Eagle” include “Commissioning a Symphony in C” and “Meanwhile, Rick James . . .”

– Erin Randolph

“Blowback” Tricky Compare to: Moby, Shaggy ****1/2

Combining fresh beats, catchy harmonies and some powerful guest performances, Tricky’s “Blowback” is a much needed change-up for the music world.

After Moby’s “Play” hit with its old hymnal sounds over unforgettable music, the door opened for more unorthodox music to enter the mainstream, which is exactly what Tricky has done with his first single, “Evolution, Revolution Love,” which features Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk chipping in on vocals.

“Blowback” is a mostly melodic record with an edge. With other guests such as Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante and Flea adding their own flavor on top of Tricky’s reggae-esque voice and smooth-beat producing, “Blowback” is candy for the ears from beginning to end.

“Excess” features Morissette and sets a perfect tone as the first track on the record. After laying low for a few years, she has returned with something completely different, but it works. As with most songs on the album, a slight eeriness and maturity lingers through the music but will keep your head bobbing throughout.

Kiedis and Frusciante make “Girls” one of the faster moving tracks on “Blowback,” though they are also stepping away from the norm to help add to Tricky’s uniqueness. Frusciante and his guitar playing return on “#1 Da Woman” along with Flea on bass to make what is the most driving song.

With other songs such as “Your Name,” which one may recognize as the song Steve Martin sings with his brain companion in “The Man with Two Brains,” and the ultra-catchy “Diss Never (Dig Up We History),” Tricky continues to surprise and impress on “Blockback,” and proves why this may most possibly be the breakthrough album of 2001.

– Kyle Moss

“The Invisible Man” Mark Eitzel Compare to: American Music Club, Nick Cave, Billy Bragg ****

In the three years that have passed since the last Mark Eitzel release, “Caught In A Trap And I Can’t Back Out `Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby,” critics and fans alike speculated on the direction that the new album, “The Invisible Man,” would take.

While some expected a return to the gritty pop-folk of his American Music Club days, others expected another Peter Buck-influenced album like “West,” and still others expected another experimental jazz album like “60 Watt Silver Lining.”

True to form, Eitzel instead has released a minimalistic, folk-electronica album, tinged with keyboard effects, voice loops and some of his most extroverted lyrics to date.

The album’s dark opener, “The Boy With The Hammer In The Paper Bag,” sets the tone for the entire album, with its narrative lyrics, drum loops, and sparse piano arrangement.

The next song on the album, “Can You See?”, is one of the album’s more reflective pieces and features a lush woodwind arrangement.

There are even a couple straight-forward love songs on the album, like “Anything,” whose chorus has Eitzel singing “I’d give anything to be where you are” without even a hint of his trademark sarcasm.

The album’s closer, “Proclaim Your Joy,” is a twangy, fun romp complete with sing-along lyrics and a refreshing dash of optimism.

“The Invisible Man” succeeds in the sense that Eitzel has managed to make an album unlike any of his previous American Music Club work, and has even distanced himself from his solo work without creating a record that would alienate his die-hard fans.

Unlike the recent U2 and R.E.M. releases, Eitzel doesn’t seem to be content with the idea of joining the elder statesmen of rock quite yet.

The idea of combining electronic elements with the tried-and-true Eitzel formula, at worst, could have resulted in an impressive disaster, but instead turned into the most coherent, consistently engaging Eitzel album in years.

– Matt Grusha