My Friend The Chocolate Cake - Parade: The Best Of My Friend The Chocolate Cake (2004)

My Friend the Chocolate Cake have been making stylish, atmospheric pop/rock for over 15 years. The members of this Melbourne, Australia, collective have transcended their goofy name and produced a career that's found them bestowed with numerous awards, coveted festival slots, and fans both at home and abroad. Parade: Best of My Friend the Chocolate Cake is a 19-track retrospective that capably examines the group's blend of lush, string-laden alternative rock and austere chamber pop ballads. Three new tunes – two of which are instrumentals – play to the band's lauded chemistry, fitting seamlessly in with classics like "I've Got a Plan" and "The Gossip." Singer/songwriter/keyboardist David Bridie's "Let's Go Walk This Town" is a particularly poignant reminder of the distinct, Aussie melancholy that down-under bands like the Church, Augie March, and the Mutton Birds are so adept at. Longtime fans will no doubt be pleased with these new additions, but for listeners outside of the country, Parade will serve as a delectable sampler from one of pop's better-kept secrets.

Track List:

01. I've got a plan (03:12)
02. Lighthouse keeper (04:09)
03. The Romp (04:25)
04. Lets go walk this town (04:11)
05. A midlife's tale (03:27)
06. Throwing it away (03:57)
07. Here come the sirens (05:47)
08. Vandorlo (live) (03:14)
09. Nanny's farewell (03:28)
10. Cello song for Charlie (03:13)
11. The Gossip (04:19)
12. I like it like this (04:55)
13. Television theme #47 (03:36)
14. A song from under the floorboards (03:58)
15. My Friend the Chocolate Cake (live) (03:52)
16. It's all in the way (03:39)
17. Talk about love (03:07)
18. The black dog follows (04:08)
19. More heart than me (04:56)