“Melophobia,” the new album by Bowling Green, Kent. native recording artists, Cage the Elephant, is a slight departure from the chaotic distortions of their youth. Listening to the album as a whole, one senses the maturation of lead singer, Matthew Schultz; in previous albums, one could feel a lot of anger pulsing through their records, such as 2011’s “Thank You, Happy Birthday” and their eponymous debut album in 2008. This time around, that pounding energy is still there but also allows for a few quiet (yet still throbbing) moments of reflection. There are some more noticeable changes in their newest work, namely Shultzs’ frequent usage of higher notes. In their past albums, his voice struggled to find the consistency that we see on this album and the harmony that exists between Schultz’s voice, lead guitarist Lincoln Parish and drummer Jared Champion becomes electrifying.
The band has described themselves as being heavily influenced by late-80s alt-rock icons The Pixies. This time around, while The Pixies comparison is still apt, one sees a lot of inspiration from current, modern alt-rock fellows Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes. This should be hopeful for the band because both The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys have similar low-key, garage-band upbringings and have become some of the biggest bands of the current alt/indie era. Producer Jay Joyce has done an admirable job edging Cage the Elephant along from hyped up, garage-band blues to a more polished form of rock that both excites and aesthetically pleases.
The album leads with pumping rhythms in the form of the song “Spiderhead.” It makes you want to get up and move, and the refrain of “Spiders in my head, spiders in my mind / you can take my eyes, but baby I’m not blind” is undeniably catchy and captures the listener’s attention immediately. This song is probably the most similar to “Thank You, Happy Birthday” and serves as an excellent introduction to the more subdued work that follows. The lead single, “Come A Little Closer,” grows on you the more you listen to it until you can not stop reciting “come on, come on, come on” to everyone you know. It is a strong song with bluesy tendencies and deep lyrics. “Telescope” is a softer song that calms the listener with light vocals and an intriguing drum line. “I’m Just Forever” tells the story of two lovers and their obsessive relationship with each other. Alison Mosshart from The Kills lends her voice to tell the female side of the story and the grittiness of Shultz’s voice contrasts with Mosshart’s husky, delicate vocals.
The next few songs are all unspectacular but add to the more composed emotions Schultz wants to convey and they do a good job of it. The stand out of the four is “Take It or Leave It,” which borrows classic Beach Boys-esque elements and showcases the creativity and changing style of the band. The edging bass lines and killer transitions in “Halo” are not to miss either. The album now comes full circle with the spectacular “Teeth,” which is sure to stand out even more during Cage the Elephant’s already fantastically energetic live show. The final song “Cigarette Daydreams” is the best, most mature song on the album. It showcases the exact kind of maturity the band wanted to achieve with this album. Shultz sings that if “You wanna find peace of mind / Looking for the answer / If we could find a reason, a reason to change / Looking for the answer / If you find a reason, a reason to say.” These are the last few lines of the album and highlight their newfound maturity whilst keeping an album that stays energetic and true to form.
Within “Melophobia,” Cage the Elephant covers all bases as musicians; it excels technically and lyrically, and should keep their previous fans happy while attracting new ones with a more polished sound. Cage the Elephant has continually been called a young band to watch out for and an up-and-coming garage-band that brings back memories of great musicians, but maybe it is time to stop calling them the future of rock and start realizing they are the present.
