Rob’s Album of The Week: Cage The Elephant’s Neon Pill
I’ve always been one of those music fans who prefers checking out a band or musician’s live performance before diving into their recordings. There’s a lot you can do with a recording to make an artist sound better than what they actually are, but there’s very little you can do to hide their shortcomings in a live setting. It’s the genuineness of the experience that I prefer, and I don’t mind being wowed by a set from an act that I never really got into before that moment. An example of this is the Bowling Green, Kentucky rock & roll act Cage The Elephant, who I knew about from their breakthrough single “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” while I was in college, but I didn’t really appreciate until I saw them take the stage for the first time nearly a decade ago. Fast forward from then to now, they’ve just released their sixth studio album Neon Pill on May 17 via RCA Records.
Working with producer John Hill, frontman Matt Shultz, guitarist and keyboardist Brad Shultz, bassist Daniel Tichenor, drummer Jared Champion and multi-instrumentalists Nick Bockrath and Matthan Minster went to an array of different studios to create the full-length. These include the Sonic Ranch in El Paso, Texas, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina and Hill’s own place of operation in Los Angeles. While this approach can sometimes jumble up the sequence of an album, the band was able to maintain their musical cohesiveness. It’s been mentioned that Cage The Elephant strived to achieve their own artistic identity during the songwriting process, which I think they absolutely pulled off. This is apparent through their stellar blend of psychedelia, soul, alt-rock and pop into a stunningly unique sound.
Memorial Day Weekend is coming up in a few days, which means that summer is surely on its way. The official start of that particular season this year is on June 20, but I like to consider the upcoming holiday to be the proper beginning of it. It’s also the start of the festival season for yours truly, even though I’ve already been to a few of them around the area over the past few weeks. I hope this summer is a great one for everybody and I hope it translates into a fantastic second half of 2024. Speaking of fantastic, here are my top tracks off of the Album of The Week:
The guitars have an interesting sound in “Rainbow” that makes me wonder which pedals and pickups are plugged in. I enjoy the way the keys and drums counteract with each other while setting the tone. “Metaverse” reminds me a lot of The Strokes’ earlier material, especially with how the beats, riffs and harmonies come across. My favorite song off of the album has to be “Good Time” with these slightly funky arrangements and charismatic vibe. The lyrics have a substantial depth while the chorus exhibits an excellent quality.
Cage The Elephant are going to be doing a tour of North America in support of Neon Pill starting at the illustrious Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee on June 15. Other notable dates include June 22 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, July 2 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, August 12 at the Target Center in Minneapolis and August 19 at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Like I mentioned earlier, seeing these guys live years ago made me a fan and I guarantee that if you do the same, you’ll feel a similar way. In the meantime, get yourself a proper dose of this release. It’s a prime example of a band letting their influences become less obvious while still incorporating what made them great in the first place.
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