Album Review: Cage The Elephant Give You “Social Cues”

Cage The Elephant’s Social Cues is aptly titled because most songs sing to the cues we miss and the ones we burn through. On earth, society is the judge and jury to every individual; the problem is that it fails to reflect and act upon itself as a mass. In Cage The Elephant’s new album, the masses are receiving a nice middle finger and some truth; if you can’t help yourself, you can’t help the world and vice versa. 

Everyone is connected, and song such as, “Broken Boy,” “House of Glass,” “Skin And Bones,” and “Night Running” make you wonder if that connection is healthy.  Matt Shultz’s voice is so seductive in this album. He is unwrapping lyrics as if he has been given a gift-wrapped, pandora’s box. As he rips the tissue papers we use to veil what is true, he finds a box that holds some of the ugliest truths about humanity/ relationships. From “What I’m Becoming” to “Night Running,” his voice tussles between being apologetic and caring less; giving the album a sense of melodrama that listeners will love. 

If this album decided to become an 80’s soap opera, it would be bigger than Dallas (lol!). Every guitar, key, bass, and drumroll explodes with exuberance and grit; as if Cage The Elephant through a bunch of diamonds in mud. Yet, when you think of how society numbs or “normalizes” people, it is not a strange reference. It is hard to feel genuine when you are being taught how or what to feel. Thus, “War Is Over,” “Tokyo Smoke,” “Black Madonna,” and “Ready To Let Go,” have Schultz using his voice like a pushing sword of clarity amongst rhythms that are combustive and collateral. You love it, especially because of songs such as, “Love’s The Only Way” and “Goodbye,” which become pensive breathers from verses that can range from hopeless to affronting. 

I love Social Cues. It is my “rock-out” album of April, and contains tracks that feel invitingly raw and raucous. The entire record moves like the story of someone that is “over” the world and their role in it, which is something we all feel, at least, once. The problem is…. then what? Once you realize you have are molding into someone you don’t want to be then you start to become who you really are. For More Information On Cage The Elephant’s Social Cues, out April 19, Click Here.