Claude says:Cake's 1996 debut landed with that deadpan, minimalist alt-rock swagger that felt like a palate cleanser after grunge got too sincere — all talk-singing and skeletal arrangements that somehow made you feel smarter for listening. You keep coming back to "The Distance" and "Frank Sinatra," tracks that proved their sarcastic restraint could hit harder than anything oversaturated, and they've stuck with you steady since 2012.