Former Muse, Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age tour buddies Cage The Elephant return with their fourth studio album this week - two years after their Grammy nominated record, Melaphobia. After favourable reviews throughout their career, which began in 2007, the expectations are sky high for the five-piece from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
To their credit, confidence doesn’t seem to have wavered. The band continue their rise with a stomping rock album that keeps them on their upward trajectory in producing increasingly strong ‘60s garage-pop, blues, and rock sounds with a commanding, powerful, and poetic singer in Matt Shultz.
Shultz is in strong form throughout the albums ten tracks and the decision to keep mostly first takes in the recording process gives the album its raw frenetic feel. Having their fan and sometimes tour mate Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys producing the sessions would have helped this old school approach along.
Watch Cage The Elephant - 'Mess Around'
It’s not all urgent sounding though. The album works in the mellower, drearier, yet still powerful cut ‘Trouble’ leads to the even more withdrawn ‘How Are You There’, crafting a great change of pace after the frantic opening. A purposeful, 60s-esque psych pop cut in ‘That’s Right’ brings the energy back up where it stays for the rest of the album.
Despite said vintage influences , that are especially heard on the twangy guitars and raw vocals, you can definitely hear that major label sheen in the production. According to their Keyboardist Matthan Minster, they “set out to have a classic-sounding record but with a modern sonic depth, like hip hop or dance music.”
The result is something that’s very easy to listen to yet is exciting an evocative of great older music. As such ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ is a triumph for Cage The Elephant that they should proudly tour.
Cage The Elephant's upcoming European tour dates are as follows. For tickets and more information, visit here.
Cage The Elephant will play:
12 February - Bierkeller - Bristol, UK
13 February - Shepherd’s Bush Empire - London, UK
14 February - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, UK
15 February - Riverside - Newcastle, UK
16 February - QMU - Glasgow, UK
18 February - Academy 2 - Liverpool, UK
19 February - Unity Works - Wakefield, UK
20 February - Academy 2 - Manchester, UK
23 February - Underground - Cologne, Germany
24 February - Melkweg Old Hall - Amsterdam, Netherlands
25 February - PBHFCLUB - Berlin, Germany
26 February - Vega Small Hall - Copenhagen, Denmark
