Cage the Elephant: the band of a generation

Any sort of rock music, as a whole, has been kicked out of the mainstream since Nirvana’s unfortunate collapse in the mid 90s. Afterwards, few rock bands have consistently topped charts and dominated mainstream music; of these popular few, one in particular, has embraced the genre’s reckless and rebellious attitude: Cage the Elephant. From courageously raw music that bashes the government through a powerfully intelligent perspective, to stage diving and dressing up, Cage the Elephant, in more ways than one, can be viewed as the rock band of today’s generation — much like Nirvana in the early 90s. Having just recently (unofficially) announced that a fifth album has been completed, the band has understandably excited lots of fans. Because of how much this announcement thrilled fans (myself included), I want to look back to some of their older work and see how they became one of the biggest rock icons of our time.

Before they were technically Cage the Elephant, they were Perfect Confusion, a name they released a self-titled album under in 2005. The album was definitely their bluesiest to date, but still not all too different from their more recent music. Nevertheless, they only found mainstream fame after changing their name to Cage the Elephant and releasing another eponymous album in 2008. This album’s sound perfectly exemplified anger through the love of music. Their second single, “In One Ear” sounds a carefree message to any critics: “We don’t do it for the money / We don’t do it for the fame /So all the critics who despise us, go ahead and criticize us /It’s your tyranny that drives us, adds the fire to our flames”. Another song in the album, “Lotus,” channels their anger into a political statement: “Manifest Destiny is just a fancy word for murder… They’ll turn this message into a pop movement / A fascist statement, call it politics / You can’t mark my words they’ll put a spin on it”. Not only were they able to project their anger into their sound, but they did it in a way that captured the attention of the masses. The third single off their debut album, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” currently has over 200 million listens on Spotify.

Their next album, Thank You, Happy Birthday (2011), took a more experimental approach. Some songs were even angrier than their first album, but others were much slower and relaxed. Again, Cage the Elephant were able to hit mainstream success though the first single, “Shake Me Down.” Following this experimental album was Melophobia (2013), which brought a more refined sound to the table — one reminiscent of their debut album. Once again, and unsurprisingly, this album was received with commercial success, establishing Cage the Elephant as a consistent musical force. Rock, at least through their sound, had become mainstream again.

Lastly, with Tell Me I’m Pretty (2015), Cage the Elephant successfully added another element to their music: sadness. This overall less upbeat album — produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach — won a Grammy for the Best Rock Album of the year. However, this has been their most underwhelming album. With the exception of songs like “Trouble” and “Too Late to Say Goodbye,” this album lacked the energy that I love in their older music.

Regardless, their next album will most likely fit the trend of all their other work — it will be honest and creative. Odds are, whether or not you even want to listen to their new album, you will stumble upon at least a song or two from it on the radio. And this, though they may not be as worshipped as other rock legends like Nirvana, is a huge step in the right direction for rock music in the future.

Article by Shayan Shirkhodai