I remember not liking Cage the Elephant when they dropped their first album back in 2008; I recall hearing “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” and rolling my eyes at the chorus, founded on a slew of bullshit nonsense outlaw country tropes. I also recall that that goddamn song lodged in my brain, and that I couldn’t shake it out no matter how hard I tried. For better or worse, the single stuck with me, and so did Cage the Elephant.
Years later I’m on board with the band*, but their latest, “Social Cues,” which dropped at the end of April, really bums me out. I feel like I’m hedging here, but if they can hook me with songs I don’t like, they can hook me with songs I do like, so the fact that the record didn’t hook me at all is a shock. The music is good. It’s just sort of…there, I guess.
You can check out my full review for Paste Magazine**.
*I still hate “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” fight me.
**The site appears to be going through updates, so you’ll have to wait to read the review until such time as the updates complete.
A Constant Visual Feast 