Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant are big in the UK, which doesn’t always mean much or translate to U.S. success. The band, hailing from the sleepy little town of Bowling Green, Kentucky, plays like its comprised of a bunch of old musical souls trapped in young, lithe bodies. Cage the Elephant is a collection of jangly, keyboard-driven, indie pop, infused with 1960s psychadelia and 1970s guitar heroism. The production also sounds happily reared in the garage.

While the genre formerly known as alt rock may be confused and hanging on by a thread in the wake of radio station format flips, the fickle, ever-changing tastes of the “kids” and the pressing question such as “What the hell is alternative rock in 2009?,” Cage the Elephant are doing their very best to comingle the past and the present in hopes of preserving the future for a troubled, almost extinct genre. “In One Ear” and “James Brown” will inspire listeners to follow that old adage “Dance like no one is watching” and take it to heart. “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” will remind schooled listeners of the lazy, neo-blues stylings of one of the Philly underground’s favorite sons, the funk soul brotha G Love, thanks to its percussive propulsion and the easy-does-it, rapped vocals. We use the term “rapped,” loosely, as Cage the Elephant traffic in a laid back, white n' Southern B-boy drawl. On the flipside, “Tiny Little Robots” rocks with reckless, rebellious, “You can’t classify me” abandon.

Cage the Elephant works because the band is effective at pairing assorted musical styles in a way that is not so much seamless as it is quirky. It fits because it’s unexpected and unpredictable. It’s not even a stretch to say the band even samples a little of 311’s spirit of mixing and matching from an array of genres. Rest assured, you won’t yawn when rocking out to this one on a hot day with the windows down.

— Amy Sciarretto
05.11.09

The more things change in rock, the more they inevitably stay the same -- and in the case of Cage the Elephant, that's a good thing. Actually, it's a very good thing. Cage the Elephant didn't exist until 2005, but as this self-titled album demonstrates, their ability to be influenced by alternative rock and classic rock simultaneously is a definite plus. Drawing on influences from different eras, this Kentucky-based band has an appealing sound that combines a strong appreciation of the Rolling Stones with elements of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, hip-hop, and punk. This isn't full-fledged R&B, but it is certainly funky by rock standards -- and that funkiness serves Cage the Elephant well on bluesy, gritty, infectious offerings like "Free Love," "Back Stabbin' Betty," and the single "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked." When one analyzes the band's sound, it makes perfect sense that classic rock-loving alterna-rockers who are into the Stones would also be into the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, and the Beastie Boys; after all, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were absolutely obsessed with both Northern and Southern soul in their 1960s/1970s heyday. The Stones were more than happy to cover gems that had been previously recorded by the Temptations ("Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Just My Imagination"), Marvin Gaye ("Hitch Hike"), Rufus Thomas ("Walking the Dog"), and Irma Thomas ("Time Is on My Side"). Similarly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have always been heavily into Parliament/Funkadelic and Sly Stone and covered the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster" in 1996. So there are major parallels between Cage the Elephant's influences even though their influences come from different eras. But instead of trying to sound exactly like those influences, Cage the Elephant have developed their own sound -- a sound that is hardly groundbreaking by 2000s standards, but is nonetheless their own sound. And they show considerable promise on this excellent CD. [This edition includes a bonus track.] ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide