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Cage The Elephant
It's a tale that's as old as Rock n' Roll. A pious father who hates secular music - especially Rock -drives his sons to just the thing he most despises. The kids trade eternal salvation for a drag race down the highway to Hell. Jeez, that was a surprise.
Meet the Shultz brothers - Matt and Brad. That's pretty much their story.
So how does a band that gets started in Bowling Green, KY, end up relocating in East London. Well, play South By Southwest in Austin and impress a label (in this case EMI Records). Move to England to record and find an audience inclined toward your sound. Simple.
The recent precedent was set by the Kings Of Leon who were popular in the U.K. before they broke in the U.S. - even though the band was from the Deep South.
'08 single, "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked," reached #32 on the U.K. chart. A self-titled full-length album rolled out first in the U.K. then the U.S. where the reception was more positive. From that set, the second single "In One Ear," nailed the #1 spot on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.
Since their debut sold 400,000 copies in the U.S. there was eager anticipation of their next effort - but it almost went sideways. Prior to the release of sophomore album," Thank You Happy Birthday," Shultz claimed the band nearly imploded while working on the album. "We were close to band suicide. We were all ready to drink the Kool-Aid at once, together." Personal problems also plagued Shultz. "After really trying to control everything in my life, it just unraveled before my eyes," said Shultz. "I had a huge hypocrisy in my own world. A lot of the songs are written about that, discovering that."
2008 Cage The Elephant
2011 Thank You Happy Birthday
Cage The Elephant occupies a space between the Kings Of Leon and The Killers - not a bad place to be. No wonder they found an audience in the U.K.
They also take a retro bend which tends to perk things up. "In One Ear," a song about phonies, feels like a Yardbirds/Barenaked Ladies "One Week" mash-up. "Drones In The Valley" is a pure psycho-raver and "Back Stabbin' Betty," fires a nasty Blues-Rock shot. The set closer, "Free Love," is a Garage band taking a swing at the Hendrix classic "Stone Free" and having it come out "Fire." But when they just get down to kickin' it, Cage The Elephant soar. "Tiny Robots" and "James Brown" do the trick. The acoustic "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" and "Back Against The Wall," not to mention the mid-tempo U2-ish "Lotus," demonstrates the group's reach. A lot of bands can Rock but to even have the slower stuff work is truly impressive.
"Thank You Happy Birthday" proffers clever arrangements that propel the songs yet never get artsy. "2024" is about as straight-ahead Rock song as there is while "Always Something" is danceable fun. They deliver driving Punk ("Sell Yourself," "Indy Kids" and "Sabertooth Tiger"), then turn Dylanesque for "Around My Head." "Flow" is good old hippie Folk but the ballad "Rubber Ball" is better.