“Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE, Monday, April 18, 2022

The Jonas Brothers decided to break up in 2013. It was the end of a squeaky-clean Disney pop era when the brothers started forging solo careers. For Nick Jonas, the youngest of the brothers, success came easy: acting, modeling, and hit singles all in his own right. The oldest Jonas (Kevin, Jr.) mostly worked on business ventures outside of music. But today, we're focusing on the middle child, Joe Jonas, who, unlike Nick, couldn't ride the fame of the Jonas name to instant stardom.

TALK TO ME BABY. What did work for Joe was forming a new band, DNCE in 2015. Joe Jonas formed the group with his roommate at the time, drummer Jack Lawless. The band added the lead guitarist from Jordan Sparks' touring band, JinJoo Lee. She had known the Jonas Brothers since Sparks had opened for them. The final member, Cole Whittle came from the glam-rock band Semi Precious Weapon, and joined DNCE because of Jonas's connection with Semi Precious Weapon's lead singer Justin Tranter who helped write DNCE songs with Jonas. With a band together, the group worked with songwriters honing in on the band's direction. DNCE would be a funky disco pop-rock sound, and their debut single, "Cake by the Ocean," would reach #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Whereas Joe Jonas's solo post-Jonas Brothers album had stalled on the pop charts, DNCE was an instant hit. The single was everywhere. The band released their debut EP, Swaay,  which contained "Cake" and the single "Toothbrush." The band then released their full-length eponymous record. But nothing DNCE did after "Cake by the Ocean" matched the debut single's success. After releasing a single in 2018, the band went on hiatus. The Jonas Brothers reformed in 2019, and the DNCE musicians went on to other musical projects; however, all but Whittle reunited earlier this year for a new Kygo single, "Dancing Feet," which features DNCE.

SEE YOU LICKIN' FROSTIN' FROM YOUR OWN HAND. Even from the radio edit version of "Cake by the Ocean," listeners can tell that the song is not as sweet as it is nasty. Innocently enough, though, the idea for the song came when the band was working with Swedish songwriting duo Mattman & Robin, who, according to Joe Jonas, kept incorrectly ordering the drink Sex on the Beach, calling it Cake by the Ocean. Literally, having sex on the beach is a logistical nightmare as is eating cake by the ocean--too much sand everywhere. When this song came out, I wasn't a fan of it. I thought the profanity was unnecessary to drive the message of the song. I thought subtly in a sexy songs makes them sexier. But more than five years after "Cake by the Ocean" was released, it doesn't seem as shocking. Maybe my ears, too, have been more conditioned to a gradual disco take over of the radio waves that seems to be growing. Maybe I thought "Cake by the Ocean" was too in your face, which is not great for a song about sex. But now this funky sound seems to be appearing elsewhere as the musical cycles seem to recycle themselves. 

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