Musical Style
Like Not Drowning, Waving, My Friend The Chocolate Cake's music can be seen to straddle the worlds of ambient and world music, with an emphasis on piano and violin-led acoustic music. Influences range from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Celtic folk music, to the less obvious, such as John Cale and Talk Talk. The band's collective musical influences are diverse and include: Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Irish and Scottish folk music, Joy Division, Arvo Pärt, and folk / pop / rock performers such as Billy Bragg, Talk Talk, John Cale and Michelle Shocked.
Each album displays a range of styles from subtle chamber music instrumentals to atmospheric folk/pop ballad fusions through to full scale romps. The group has a string section as a permanent fixture to their line-up, headed by Helen Mountfort, which greatly effects their song writing. Bridie, the groups main lyricist, often writes songs inspired by Melbourne suburban life. Other themes that are frequent include community politics and young love. Bridie sings with a distinctly Australian accent, differing from most vocalists who tend to emulate an American accent.
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