A new addition to the ever-growing quirk-rock genre, Cake's funky guitar rock recalls the absurdity of Phish's genre-hopping jams (and vocalist John McCrea's nasal levity is a dead ringer for Phish's Trey Anastasio). There are a few entertaining songs on Motorcade of Generosity: "Rock'n'Roll Lifestyle" is a thoroughly laudable send-up of the excesses of rock fans; "Jolene" begins as their most tightly crafted song and then dissolves into a deliciously messy jam session. Quirky music does demand a high standard of consistency because its triviality can easily become tiresome, and Cake's minimalist jams occasionally get repetitive (their spare arrangements use two guitars, bass, drums, and a horn). But there are enough standouts here to easily qualify Motorcade as a keeper. ~ Darryl Cater, All Music Guide
I love Cake for being quirky and funky and having a gift for catchy tunes that percolate along. McCrae's droll delivery makes their lyrics more deliberately clever. I agree with the previous--I would not call Cake's arrangements sparse (how many bands feature a horn?) but I do feel their albums are very clean as opposed to a lot of the overproduced dreck nowadays. See them live, if you can!
Personally, my favorite on this album is "Jolene." "Pentagram" amuses me. I also seem to lean towards "Ain't No Good." But honestly, the whole album is great. ALL their albums are great. I don't know why the author said their arrangements are sparse, because I find them to be very layered. They are masters at counterpoint and counter melody. Some of their songs get very complex.
Money. ABSOLUTE MONEY. I Bombed Korea and Mr. Mastadon Farm are two of my favorite Cake songs. This album is filled with all the things that make Cake so good: catchy songs with clever lyrics. The line "Jesus wrote a blank check, one I haven't cashed yet. I hope I have a little more time" is genius. But I suppose I should take my tongue out of Cake's a**hole long enough to finish this comment...