Additional personnel: Jim Campilongo, Xan McCurdy, Chuck Prophet, Rusty Miller, Tyler Pope (guitar); Greg Vincent (pedal steel guitar); Ben Morss (piano); David Palmer (keyboards); Mark Needham (percussion); Phyl Banks (programming); Richard Lyman (musical saw).

Engineers include: Craig Long, Kirt Shearer, Joe Johnston.

Recorded at Pus Cavrn & Paradise Studios, Sacramento, California; Hyde Street Studios & Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California.

Cake's attempt to make a smug- and irony-free album, the band's third release does hold back the barbs a bit more than usual, even if they do fall back into familiar territory: postmodern takes on postmodern life. Flipping between earnest alt-rock rhythms and jittery, funky jazz, Prolonging the Magic works best when Cake lay on the irony extra heavy, or when they make their sober ambitions mesh slightly with the type of smart-ass pop they've based a career on (like "Never There"). At least they seem to realize their place in the alt-rock universe as a novelty band with chops, counteracting the genre's overwhelming seriousness with a light dose of heavy-handed yuks. ~ Michael Gallucci

Supposedly their attempt to make a smugness- and irony-free album, Cake's third release does hold back the barbs a bit more than usual. And the strain shows. In these guys' hands, love songs without smirks and pop tunes straight up come out forced. So, they often fall back into familiar territory: postmodern takes on postmodern life. Flipping between earnest alt-rock rhythms and jittery, funky jazz that somehow manages to whitewash both styles, Prolonging the Magic works best when Cake lay on the irony extra heavy, or when they make their sober ambitions mesh slightly with the type of smart-ass pop they've based a career on (like the formulaic "Never There"). At least they seem to realize their place in the alt-rock universe as a novelty band with chops, counteracting the genre's overwhelming seriousness with a light dose of heavy-handed yuks. ~ Michael Gallucci

Their second album brought fame to Cake, with a hit single ("The Distance") that wasn't written by the group's main songwriter John McCrea, therefore misrepresenting the band's sound. PROLONGING THE MAGIC gives listeners another chance to tune in to this California unit's distinctive sound, an arch, alt-rock concoction that fall somewhere between Pavement and They Might Be Giants. There's a hip-hop inflection to the rhythm section now and again, and the addition of trumpet keeps the production from slipping into alternative rock cliche. The tunes are all delivered with a generous dollop of sarcastic wit and Cake's collective tongue firmly in cheek. Despite the high irony quotient, there's a rollicking, light-hearted feel that keeps things sprightly and infectious.