Pressure Chief

Pressure Chief is the fifth studio album by American band Cake. It was released on October 5, 2004, pushed back from its original August release date. It was produced by the band and recorded in a converted house in Sacramento. The lead single, "No Phone" peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[1] The second single "Carbon Monoxide" garnered some airplay but failed to crack the Modern Rock Tracks top 40. The album was the band's second and last record under Columbia Records.

Pressure Chief
Studio album by Cake
Released	October 5, 2004
Genre	Alternative rock post-punk new wave indie rock experimental rock
Length	36:16
Label	Columbia
Producer	Cake
Cake chronology
Comfort Eagle (2001) Pressure Chief (2004) B-Sides and Rarities (2007)
Singles from Pressure Chief
"No Phone" Released: August 24, 2004 "Carbon Monoxide" Released: 2004

Release

The songs "She'll Hang the Baskets" and "Tougher Than It Is" were both originally written for Cake's 1998 record Prolonging the Magic. A bonus disc, Extra Value, was included in limited pre-orders of Pressure Chief.

On its opening week, Pressure Chief sold about 46,000 copies, debuting and peaking at number 17 on the Billboard 200.^[2] However, it fell to No. 55 the following week. By the next month, the album had only sold 91,478 copies.^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	52/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Blender	[4]
musicOMH	favorable[6]
Mojo	[4]
Paste	favorable[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Sputnikmusic	[9]
Stylus Magazine	B−[10]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[11]

Pressure Chief was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 52 based on 8 reviews.^[4]

In a review for AllMusic, Johnny Loftus wrote: "Pressure Chief marks Cake's tenth year with a set of sardonic, engaging alternative pop that shows the Sacramento band's economical sound unwilted after all these years."^[5] Matt Weir of Tiny Mix Tapes gave a three-and-a-half stars out of five, calling the release the "weakest effort" by the band. According to AllMusic, the song "No Phone" declaims "the encroachment of technology".^[11][12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wheels"	John McCrea, Carlos Forster	3:18
2.	"No Phone"	McCrea, Xan McCurdy	3:52
3.	"Take It All Away"	McCrea, Forster, Garth Klippert	3:58
4.	"Dime"	McCrea	3:37
5.	"Carbon Monoxide"	McCrea	3:10
6.	"The Guitar Man"	David Gates	3:54
7.	"Waiting"	McCrea, Vince DiFiore	3:56
8.	"She'll Hang the Baskets"	McCrea	2:43
9.	"End of the Movie"	McCrea	1:50
10.	"Palm of Your Hand"	McCrea	2:57
11.	"Tougher Than It Is"	McCrea, Gabriel Nelson	3:00

Japan bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Carbon Monoxide" (Karaoke Version)	3:10
13.	"No Phone" (Karaoke Version)	3:10
14.	"Wheels" (Karaoke Version)	3:17
15.	"Take It All Away" (Karaoke Version)	3:57

Personnel

Cake

• John McCrea – acoustic guitar, keyboard, percussion, lead vocals, cover design
• Vince DiFiore – trumpet, melodica, keyboard, percussion, background vocals
• Xan McCurdy – electric and acoustic guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, background vocals
• Gabe Nelson – bass, keyboard, drums, electric and acoustic guitar, background vocals

Additional musicians

• Tyler Pope – additional keyboard, percussion and guitar (on "No Phone", "Dime", "The Guitar Man", and "Palm Of Your Hand")
• Chuck Prophet – electric guitar (on "She'll Hang The Baskets")
• Paulo Baldi – drums (on "No Phone", and "Carbon Monoxide")
• Matt McCord – drums (on "The Guitar Man")
• Todd Roper – drums on (on "She'll Hang The Baskets", and "Tougher Than It Is")
• Greg Vincent – pedal steel guitar (on "She'll Hang The Baskets", and "Palm Of Your Hand")

Additional personnel

• Cake – Arranger, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Craig Long – Engineer, Mixing
• Mark Needham – Engineer, Mixing
• Patrick Olguin – Engineer, Mixing
• Kirt Shearer – Engineer, Mixing
• Don C. Tyler – Mastering

Charts

Chart performance for Pressure Chief

Chart (2004)	Peak position
French Albums (SNEP)[13]	79
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14]	95
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	44
US Billboard 200[16]	17
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[17]	17

Singles – Billboard (United States)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2004	"No Phone"	Modern Rock Tracks	13

Television performances

• "No Phone" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday, October 4, 2004
• "Wheels" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• "No Phone" on The Late Late Show (with guest host Tom Arnold) on Tuesday, October 5, 2004

Appearances in other media

• The song "Wheels" is featured in the soundtrack of the film I Love You, Man.