Downtown Puff
studio
ArtistEdmund Cake
CoverEC_Downtown_Puff.jpg
Released3 June 2004
GenreIndie pop
Length36:39
LabelLil' Chief Records
ProducerEdmund Cake

Downtown Puff is a solo album by Edmund Cake. Although multi-instrumentalist Cake played various instruments and performed vocals on the album,[1] other musicians and singers on the album include Anna Coddington, Neil Finn and Tim Finn.[2] Geoff Maddock and Joel Wilton of Cake's short-lived earlier band and Flying Nun phenomenon Bressa Creeting Cake, now of Goldenhorse, also appear on the album.[3]

McWilliams wrote and recorded many of the songs on the album in a studio on Gore Street - a red-light area in Auckland.[4][5] According to a biography of Cake, the album was influenced by this environment, including "incessant street brawls, strip club pop, and Doobie Brothers hits played by the covers band in the 24-hour bar downstairs."[5] The album includes instrumental tracks such as "Airshow" and "You're Watching Me", and vocal tracks such as "Secret Girl" described by McWilliams as a comedy song that 'came out serious'.[1]

Reception

The album was included in the 'best of 2005' list by The Clientele for Pitchfork Magazine.[6] It was also included in the 2010 list of 'the best NZ albums I've ever reviewed' by Simon Sweetman.[7] Cake was nominated for 'Best Producer' for his work on the album at the 2005 bNet New Zealand Music Awards.[8]

Track listing

  1. "Secret Girl" – 3:16
  2. "We Live Like Kings" – 2:11
  3. "Golden Man" – 4:51
  4. "Gunga" – 3:27
  5. "My Son The Harpist" – 4:39
  6. "You're Watching Me" – 3:10
  7. "The Airshow" – 5:08
  8. "Silverdale" – 4:16
  9. "Beautiful Sleep" – 2:33
  10. "Oh Baby Bear" – 3:08

References

  1. ^ "Radio show podcast – New Zealand musician Edmund Cake". Wellington City Libraries. 30 July 2010. Archived 2011-10-19 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "Bressa Creeting Cake". Aphoristic Album Reviews. 2019-05-04. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  3. ^ "Goldenhorse - AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  4. ^ "The Genius of Edmund Cake". Stuff. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  5. ^ "Edmund Cake - New Zealand Musicians & Bands". www.muzic.net.nz. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  6. ^ "2005 Comments & Lists: Artists' Best of 2005". Pitchfork. 15 December 2005. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  7. ^ Sweetman, Simon (2010-05-09). "The best NZ albums I have reviewed". Stuff. Archived 2019-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  8. ^ "2005 B-Net NZ Music Awards - Nominees Announced". www.muzic.net.nz. Retrieved 2020-06-06.