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Review of Bressa Creeting Cake's Self-titled Album

© Nick Bendel

Bressa Creeting Cake (the name of the group comes from the surnames of its three members) was a rather obscure New Zealand outfit that released a self-titled album in 1997 before deciding to split up. Anyone who manages to listen to this collection of songs will no doubt wish that they had continued to make music forever, because the band's one and only contribution to the world of music is utterly brilliant. In fact if one of Joel Bressa, Geoff Creeting or Edmund Cake is reading this right now, hopefully this review will serve to change your mind.

For those who are wondering what makes the album so good, the main reason is its unique and amazing variety. Bressa Creeting Cake's fifteen songs are a dazzling array of acoustic, calypso, punk, pop and rock music. "Superstation," an ode to petrol stations that serve more than just gasoline, is even tinged with jazz. What this variety illustrates is that Bressa Creeting Cake were a band of immense talent. Unlike many other groups who are content to stack their albums with a collection of homogeneous fillers, these three musicians were obviously committed to good music and yet not afraid to experiment. If one had to liken them to another group, the closest candidate to the sound (and innovation) of Bressa Creeting Cake would be the incredible '70s and '80s Kiwi group Split Enz. While this is only a gentle comparison it does show just how outstanding the album is.

The other reason for this comment is that the melodies themselves - experimentation and uniqueness aside - are extremely strong. "Palm Singing," a fun calypso song, is the opening track and definitely the most catchy. This vibe continues into "Egyptian Tanker" with both songs containing what appears to be a xylophone. This again shows that Bressa Creeting Cake are not afraid to be different.

The album's wonderful diversity does not end there. Added to the mix are a couple of love songs as well as some pop and rock - quite standard stuff of course. What's unusual, however, is that not only do they represent merely a portion of the album, but they are coupled with some truly amazing contributions. "Zenax," for example is a dark acoustic ballad sung in Hungarian and Mongolian. Even more haunting is "They Write Words to People Who Are Dead," a song as dark as it is addictive, and one which skilfully blends into the next track "Papa People." Rounding off Bressa Creeting Cake is "Wood For Her," a traditional rock song. The amazing thing about it, though, is that even when

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