Showroom of Compassion
| Showroom of Compassion | ||||
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| Studio album by Cake | ||||
| Released | January 11, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2009–2010 at Upbeat Studio, Sacramento, California | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Label | Upbeat | |||
| Producer | Cake | |||
| Cake chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Showroom of Compassion | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (72/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| The A.V. Club | (B+) |
| The Boston Globe | (favorable) |
| Consequence of Sound | |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B+) |
| Los Angeles Times | (favorable) |
| Paste | (7.7/10) |
| PopMatters |   |
| Rock Sound | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Showroom of Compassion is the sixth full-length studio album from the band Cake, which was released on January 11, 2011. Produced by the band, it is the band's first studio album to be independently released. The musical style of Showroom of Compassion is grounded in the band's unique style of alternative rock, combining droll, often esoteric lyrics rife with word play and syncopation, catchy distorted guitar riffs, complex bass patterns, Moog, and prominent use of trumpet. Cake's former lead guitarist, Greg Brown, makes a guest appearance on the song, "Bound Away", his first appearance on a Cake album since 1996's Fashion Nugget.
The album was the band's first since the release of Pressure Chief in 2004, the longest gap to date between two consecutive Cake studio albums. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 for one week, becoming the band's first album to do so. The album's first single, "Sick of You", reached #13 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart.
Several of the songs on the album charted in the US, including "Sick of You" (which reached #108 via the Bubbling Under chart and #14 on the Rock Songs chart); "Long Time," which peaked at #14 on the Rock Songs chart; and "Mustache Man (Wasted)," which attained a peak position of #22 on the Rock Songs chart.
Near the beginning of recording, John McCrea and other members of the band stated that their new album would sound very different from their previous materials. In an interview with the Sacramento News, McCrea revealed that the music on the album would range from "aggressive rock songs" to "weird pseudoclassical compositions". In addition, McCrea allowed piano on the LP, which he had never done because he thought it sounded "too classy". He also said this is the first time he has allowed reverb, which he thought too many bands used to sound "grandiose".
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