Both the name and the deliciously obnoxious artwork of Cage The Elephant's self-titled album suggests a journey to the center of experimental art rock. Unfortunately, your journey ends with the first riff of the first tune. Each song echoes the one before, and the album itself reeks of "heard-it-before."
Though Cage The Elephant is laced with a little American swagger, sometimes in the lead singer's delivery and sometimes in the crowing guitar licks, it holds more resemblance to foreign bands than to the American garage rock, indie fuzz, and post-punk that dwells here today. Specifically, this band would be most at home in the UK with its high-tempo, alternative rock fraternal twins, like very shouty The Cribs or the slightly more lyrical Dirty Pretty Things. They may even be more at home in a semi-hard rocker's Australia. Cage The Elephant plays like they were given the most predictable licks of Wolfmother, dipped in the collected brashness and sonic thickness of UK's indie rock scene, and then grabbed the lead singer from Jet and told him to sing...worse. Each song defaults to the same format: speedy tempo, bright, contrasting rythymic patterns spliced together a la Marnie Stern or a less musical Arctic Monkeys, some loud, UK rock wannabe singing, some clapping - essentially, providing consistent walls of similar noises over and over.
It is a sad day when liner notes can include a man with four heads reminscent of Mt. Rushmore vomiting blue paint and intestine-esque squiggles, but the first track of the album, "In One Ear," is barely worth a complete listen. Yes, the songs on this album are all basically the same, and all serve as decent imposter UK rock ditties, but "In One Ear" stands out as quite annoying with its self-righteous, unoriginal lyrics proclaiming the band's love for music itself. Another track worthy of a negative spotlight is "Tiny Little Robots," which dooms itself with its incessant clapping. Most pathetic is the sad, uninspired bassline that begins "Drones In The Valley." Just what the world needs - another bass player who's obviously not getting laid.
If anything redeems this album, it's the little moments. The catchy chorus of "Judas" is perhaps noteworthy (though not so clever that you'll want to hear the entire song). "Back Against The Wall" features the singer giving a less obnoxious performance than usual, if only for the brief introduction. "Lotus" is somewhat amusing as it stops abruptly before slipping into an atmospheric haze, only to shift uptempo again. The solo in "Lotus" is surprisingly acceptable as well, worthy of a mid-level Guitar Hero setlist.
Overall, the album is built of acceptable pieces that, when placed together, barrage and badger the listener. By the time Cage The Elephant finishes their album with the ultra repetitive, weakly built-up "Free Love," it's a little like a migraine sufferer getting shot in the head - it could have been a pretty day, but it was too long and he's just glad it's over.
Yes, I have said some very cruel things toward Cage The Elephant. However, if you are a huge fan of indie/alt rock from the UK or Australia, England especially, and you are in need of a new cd to live in your car and replace the radio, this would qualify as a wise purchase. Besides, the artwork is pretty spectacular, with its intestines, skull, eyeballs, and paint splatters galore.
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