Spin Doctors serve up a second act of rock n’ roll on Face Full Of Cake, a joyful and deeply human record from a band that never stopped loving the ride and all the ups and downs that come with it.
The Spin Doctors are back, and they're serving the rock n’ roll up hot. With Face Full Of Cake, their first album in twelve years, the '90s alt-rock radio mainstays prove they’ve still got plenty of arrows left in the quiver. The funkiness is still there, the grooves go deeper than ever, and the hooks hit with the same loose-limbed charm that made “Two Princes” a generational earworm.
And luckily this isn’t just some nostalgia trip. Face Full Of Cake sounds like a band reborn, bursting with the kind of effortless chemistry that only comes from three and a half decades of jamming together. It’s also the studio debut of new bassist Jack Daley, whose playing injects some new chemistry into the familiar Spin Doctors formula. “There was a renewed energy,” says drummer Aaron Comess. “Jack just brings this really fat groove… it was instantly evident that it was going to work out.”
The album’s lead single “Still A Gorilla” swaggers with riff-heavy bravado and Chris Barron’s signature smirk, while “Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven” is a clever, poignant meditation on the afterlife for road-weary musicians. Then there’s “Heart Of The Highway,” a slow-burn anthem that wrestles with the push and pull of chasing dreams and leaving loved ones behind. “It’s a poem about how it feels to be far from home,” says frontman Barron. “It’s emotive as fuck,” adds guitarist Eric Schenkman.
Born from pandemic-era writing sessions and late-night hangs, Face Full Of Cake has the vibe of a band rediscovering itself without trying too hard. And there’s no need to, that’s not what made the Spin Doctors who they are. No glossy overproduction, no chasing trends - just four lifers, locked in and letting it ride. “We weren’t really thinking of it as a record,” Comess admits. “We captured a moment where it felt effortless.”