Cage The Elephant
Social Cues
RCA Records
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Cage the Elephant are of a rare breed. Theyβve been at it for over decade and have still found a niche where they can be a commercially successful rock band in the streaming era, a rare feat. Like their peers The Black Keys, they make music that gets played in car commercials but actually sounds great blasting from a car speaker. When I saw them live a few years ago, frontman Matt Schulz performed like a millennial Iggy Pop; jumping into the crowd and walking on their hands as they raised him up like Jesus. It was pretty great.
On the bandβs newest album, Social Cues, Schulz is as charismatic as ever. Itβs a good thing too, because while the songs here are still catchy, some questionable production choices and bland lyrics hold the album back.
At their best, the songs pare new wave inspired sleekness with the bandβs usual swagger and wind up sounding something like the Rolling Stones on Tattoo You or a classic Cars song. The opening run of βBroken Boyβ and βSocial Cuesβ hit that sweet spot.
When itβs bad though, itβs bad. Too often, it seems like Cage the Elephant are trying to make the next big alternative crossover song, a la βFeel It Still.β The glossy production that comes along with that sucks the energy away. First single βNight Running,β inexplicably features a rapping Beck and some weird electro touches. Cage the Elephant songs were getting featured in video games when I was in middle school. They donβt need a crossover hit, they already have crossed over.
Social Cues isnβt the best Cage the Elephant album by a long shot but itβs another testament to their staying power. A few of these songs will probably get some radio play and Iβll be happier for it. Even if itβs βNight Running.β
ArtistΒ Links
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CAGE THE ELEPHANT – SOCIAL CUES
Matt Morris