ALBUM: Cage The Elephant 'Tell Me I'm Pretty'

Rating:

I was pretty late to the Cage The Elephant party; I’d heard the odd song, but only really got into them last year after seeing them live. Since then it’s been a pretty intense – if entirely one-sided – love story. While I stand by the idea that Cage The Elephant are one of those bands that you have to see live to truly appreciate (Matt Schultz has a totally unbeatable stage presence), their albums are, similarly, fantastic.

It’s a fear with any artists that they can only languish: it’s an unfair assumption, of course, but with three fantastic studio albums since 2006, can Cage The Elephant really have anything else up their sleeves? It would seem so.

With their fourth album, Tell Me I’m Pretty, Cage The Elephant have done it again: sure, there’s nothing revolutionary or new about the album, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? There’s nothing wrong with bands developing their sound – Arctic Monkeys have done it and it’s worked – but there’s also nothing wrong with sticking with something tried and tested: something that both the band and fans know and love. There’s also arguably something even more commendable about being able to stick to a sound but not get boring; and Tell Me I’m Pretty certainly isn’t boring.

Producer Dan Auerbach’s (of The Black Keys) influence is certainly present, their signature sound given a new lease of life: Cage the Elephant have always had a sort of sinister vibe, but with tracks like ‘Too Late To Say Goodbye’, it’s injected with a dose of soulfulness.

With most of the songs recorded on the first take, this album embodies the raw, unmatched energy of Cage The Elephant. This isn’t a sound that should be refined and perfected: songs like ‘Portuguese Knife Fight’ work because they’re rough and ready and it wouldn’t be right for them to be anything else. Tell Me I’m Pretty is a solid album from start to finish – yet another success to add to the collection for Cage The Elephant.

Tell Me I’m Pretty is released on 18th December via RCA Records.