Cage The Elephant - Melophobia
Release Date: October 8
Label: RCA
Rating: 9.0 out of 10
The pressure these days to retain a unique and refreshing perspective on your genre can't be underestimated. It is essential in every genre and perhaps there is most freedom in the indie world because, let's face it, the weirder it is, the more likely we are to be intrigued. I was fully expecting weird from CTE's third studio album. I was therefor very pleasantly surprised to hear something accessible and with the perfect amount of familiarity to grip onto. Their formula was simple: keep it fresh by being honest. And that is truly the only thing that separates them from other rockster scuzz bands like Grouplove.
Melophobia is a collection of garage rock tracks interspersed with a small amount of very slick, well produced introspective numbers. Lead single 'Come A Little Closer', far from being a romantic dancefloor ditty as the title would suggest, was inspired by a moment in Sao Paolo where frontman Matthew Schultz looked over the city at sunrise and cast his thoughts somewhere far beyond himself. This single moment helps balance the level of self obsession that is prevalent elsewhere on this album. Similarly bar puncher 'Teeth' winds down to a poetic, honest monologue over drunken horns and manic tambourines. It reminds you that this is a work of honest passion. The record rollicks along to the point where you worry they're gonna run out of railroad for their train. On the closing track 'Telescope' they once again get sober and cute, singing about heir own fears of loneliness and being misunderstood.
And for me it's these little footholds they throw out that help you get your head around the band. Something not offered by other bands too concerned with being relevant or trying so hard to stand out and be 'cool'. It's the sound of therapy, but where all the patients are hungover from the previous night's antics. It never gets quite honest enough to become a true masterpiece, or if it does the honesty is lost beneath the layers of 70's grimey layers of sound. When Dead Weather's / The Kills Alison Mossheart steals the limelight on 'It's Just Forever', you know that these guys don't mind sharing a stage. And that's cool.
'Melphobia' is anything but mellow (thankfully enough) and pushes the boat out just far enough for us to catch a glimpse of a band who is poised on the edge of their quarter life crisis. It's going to be even rougher terrain to navigate on the next album. Let's hope they don't do the obvious thing and go psyhedelic or neo-folk. There are enough bands trading their angst in for something synthy. CTE have pulled a surprisingly well formed rabbit out this hat.
WVS
Melophobia is a collection of garage rock tracks interspersed with a small amount of very slick, well produced introspective numbers. Lead single 'Come A Little Closer', far from being a romantic dancefloor ditty as the title would suggest, was inspired by a moment in Sao Paolo where frontman Matthew Schultz looked over the city at sunrise and cast his thoughts somewhere far beyond himself. This single moment helps balance the level of self obsession that is prevalent elsewhere on this album. Similarly bar puncher 'Teeth' winds down to a poetic, honest monologue over drunken horns and manic tambourines. It reminds you that this is a work of honest passion. The record rollicks along to the point where you worry they're gonna run out of railroad for their train. On the closing track 'Telescope' they once again get sober and cute, singing about heir own fears of loneliness and being misunderstood.
And for me it's these little footholds they throw out that help you get your head around the band. Something not offered by other bands too concerned with being relevant or trying so hard to stand out and be 'cool'. It's the sound of therapy, but where all the patients are hungover from the previous night's antics. It never gets quite honest enough to become a true masterpiece, or if it does the honesty is lost beneath the layers of 70's grimey layers of sound. When Dead Weather's / The Kills Alison Mossheart steals the limelight on 'It's Just Forever', you know that these guys don't mind sharing a stage. And that's cool.
'Melphobia' is anything but mellow (thankfully enough) and pushes the boat out just far enough for us to catch a glimpse of a band who is poised on the edge of their quarter life crisis. It's going to be even rougher terrain to navigate on the next album. Let's hope they don't do the obvious thing and go psyhedelic or neo-folk. There are enough bands trading their angst in for something synthy. CTE have pulled a surprisingly well formed rabbit out this hat.
WVS
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| Matthew spent the rest of the gig practicing his Prince Charming hair swish thing. |
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