Tracks:
1. Living Winter
3. Private Yacht
4. Kirchner
5. The Shining Path
7. Old Debts
8. Leper Hill
9. This Way Not Some Other Way
10. Big Purse
PLATES OF CAKE
S/T
LP
$13
PLATES OF CAKE
Plates of Cake is a Brooklyn based band led by songwriter/guitarist Jonathan Byerley. Having already released two outstanding albums of hazy folk songs under his own name, Byerley decided it was time to call in some old friends and cohorts from his home state of Colorado and strike up the band. With an emphasis on lyrical structure and clever melodies, Plates of Cake play a kind of surrealistic pop music favored by luminaries such as The Kinks and Guided By Voices. The songs that make up their self-titled LP run the gamut from hook-laden rockers to cool country charmers, all delivered like a band that's been playing together for years.
DISCOGRAPHY:
The self-titled album by Plates of Cake plays like a two-sided LP should. It's like spinning one of those mid 60's folk rock records where you're hit with one blast after another for a perfect half hour. The Byrd's Fifth Dimension, The Turtles' Wooden Head and Love's first record all come to mind. From the moment the first chords are struck in 'Living Winter' until the closing chant in 'Big Purse' you'll find no filler, just memorable songs that shed light on the dark daydreams clouding an otherwise sun-baked world. It's a thrilling ride full of peaks and valleys, elegant wordplay, reverb drenched guitars, and snappy rhythms all played by the quartet of Jonathan Byerley, Joshua Carrafa, Gann Matthews and William Yale.
Recorded in a rented church in Nutley, New Jersey by drummer William Yale on 8 track reel-to-reel and 4 track-cassette, Plates of Cake has a sound that is homegrown and rich with reverberating tones. The band sounds at home in it's adopted surroundings, and the way it was tracked brings a lively feel to the performances. With his sandpaper-sharp baritone, principle songwriter, Jonathan Byerley, acts as narrator to the album's 9 songs, with occasional vocal harmonies bursting through the clouds compliments of bassist Gann Matthews and guitarist Joshua Carrafa. Byerley's gruff vocal stylings recall balladeers like Lloyd Cole and Warren Zevon, which suits his expert penmanship perfectly. While the band seems to float six inches off the ground, it's Byerley's voice and lyrics that bring them back to earth with his old world themes of life during wartime, work and love, bohemia and oddball short stories. He is a gifted songwriter that plays with the idea of darkness rather than living in it, with lyrics as imaginative as tall tales that poke fun at, as well as reflect contemporary depressions. Take this cutting line from side B standout 'A Band of Partisans', "Now I live here with a kind assassin, a sleeping wife and her dagger collection. Life is pretty quiet when you're living out of reach with nothing to return to except your memories."
Stylistically the band doesn't lean to heavily on any particular sound. The songwriting is so strong that the references one may pick up are garnered through love and respect rather than blatant copying; the candle-lit lyricism of Leonard Cohen on 'This Way Not Some Other Way', the twin guitar workouts of The Feelies on 'Old Debts', and even the heights of Village Green era Kinks on 'Private Yacht'. Throughout it all though, if there were one ghost looking over the proceedings it would be that of Alexander "Skip" Spence. Imagine if Spence was the only songwriter/vocalist in Moby Grape and you get a little closer to what Plates of Cake are all about. They strike a balance between the tight and the bent, playing their songs casually and confidently, with no extra note or verse tacked on. With only the essential ingredients brought to the table Plates of Cake have made a startling debut.
PRESS:
“This is rock ’n' roll for late night cab rides, rainy mid-day skies, blinking lights, almost-gone well drinks, cocktail napkins with phone numbers written in lipstick — this is The National if The National sounded like everyone says they do. . . Truly soiled music, dove-like in its beauty and full of gritty fire and sore guts.”
-Grant Purdum (Tiny Mix Tapes) READ MORE>>
“Plates of Cake stake their claim in the guitar-pop arena. The melodies are tight and swelling with a quiet tension, the guitars shimmer and quake and the rhythm section subtly pushes it all along. The band also shows an impressive range, from the bright, nearly-twee pop of “Living Winter” to the propulsive rock of “Emil the Soldier” to the deathly, Cohen-esque waltz of “This Way; Not Some Other Way”. With their breadth of pop styles and their tight execution, the band puts forth an admirable set on this record.” -Matthew Fiander (Pop Matters) READ MORE>>
“With a booming bass foundation and the gruff croon of Jonathan Byerley — a blur of Nick Cave, Morrissey and Leonard Cohen — Plates of Cake are deceptively upbeat, with a foot-tapping rhythm that gets into your bones. It’s only once you start swaying that the words hit you: “The wilderness to the icy sea, I destroyed what you loved in me." The Brooklyn-based foursome have an innate sense of beat and darkness; I suspect Byerley is making the absolute best out of an Episcopalian upbringing.” -Isabella Yeager (Unveiled Arts)
"Brooklyn-based Plates of Cake have recently released their self-titled album on All Hands Electric (Zachary Cale, Woodsy Pride). Recorded on 8 track reel-to-reel and 4-track cassette, the album has a warm, retro sound that perfectly suits the music, which recalls Guided By Voices, The Byrds and sometimes, even The Replacements. Sharp guitars, interesting melodies, and lyrics both thoughtful and oddball (What’s so great about masking tape/ Is it the flesh tone color beige? from “Old Debts”) are heard throughout Plates of Cake. Songwriter/guitarist Jonathan Byerley has one of the most interesting voices I’ve heard all year – a deep baritone that is a cross between Bob Dylan and Warren Zevon — and somehow he pulls it off. Standout tracks include the pleasant rambler “Living Winter,” upbeat “Emil the Soldier” and Leonard Cohen-esque “This Way; Not Some Other Way.” -DBosket (Record Dept.)
"A top-shelf lead single [Private Yacht] that we can show off to our friends..." -My Old Kentucky Blog READ MORE>>
"A British Invasion sound straight out of Brooklyn." 2010 CMJ - Our Recommendations -AM New York
PHOTO: JB Hardy
AHE-11 Self Titled LP
“dove-like in its beauty and full of gritty fire and sore guts”
-Tiny Mix Tapes
AHE-15 As If the Choice Were Mine b/w Transit Trials 7” (RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2011)
PLATES OF CAKE
As If The Choice Were Mine b/w Transit Trials
7” Vinyl
$5
Plates of Cake aren't ones to rest on their laurels. Since the release of their debut album last year they've crafted a number of new songs that they've swiftly introduced into their live set. With this 7" single they tighten their sound with two smashing tracks. The A side, "As if the Choice were Mine", mixes the three part harmony jangle of The Byrds with a Feelies like angularity. The song is irresistibly melodic with the voices of Jonathan Byerley, Josh Carrafa, and new bassist, Michael Flis, singing in unison on each verse. On the flip is the clever and cool "Transit Trials", a steady rockin' number that expands on the "Kinksian" sound of their debut LP while hinting at new directions both rhythmically and sonically.
PRESS:
Plates Of Cake have adorned my table ever since they were spliced together from chunks of old doo-wop classics, Leonard Cohen programs, stained diner menus, post-punk lore, Jonathan Richman’s surrealist slant, and, aww hell, involuntary facial hair. “As If the Choice Were Mine” brings a second vocalist into the mix, a surprise move considering the last record (which I loved maybe a bit too much) was all about lead singer/songwriter Jonathan Byerley. It’s never easy to get used to change when you liked what you started with, so there’s that. Still a nice cut. “Transit Trials,” like seemingly 75% of flips, is even better than the A. Catchier melody, better bridge, ringing riffs — music for winners and losers and those who love and hate them. I hate to rush you guys, but… I want more. -Grant Purdum (Tiny Mix Tapes)
"Rock ‘n Roll takes on so many hats, and heads in so many directions, but when a group wants to either start their way--or find their way back—they tend to scale back to basics. As for PoC, that action is not currently necessary as these Brooklyn peeps start at the beginning and live there. Simple, almost slow-punk guitars back a grizzled set of vocals that sound more like “I need to sing” than “I want to sing because I want to be a star.” Enjoying the ‘Cakes is easy, because the ‘Cakes are just that: easy.” -(Metromix)
“The swift and confident “As If The Choice Were Mine” is at once fuzzy and jangly, teasing us with whiffs of the ’60s and hints of rhythmic trickery.” -(Fingertips) READ MORE>>
