Cage The Elephant – ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ [Review]
Rock’n’roll, garage rock, psychedelic rock, alternative rock – call it what you like, throw a rock today and you might well hit someone in a soundalike, dime-a-dozen band matching one of those descriptions. They look the same, sound (almost) the same, pose the same way in pictures – and they’ve occupied the “wrong side of the tracks” position in the mainstream for over a decade.
Cage The Elephant, however, are genuinely different.
Tell Me I’m Pretty is a set full of guts, grit, grace and dignity. There are plenty of retro-friendly songs that the Beatles themselves would be proud to have penned, rammed through fuzzy distortions and vintage amps – key among them Cry Baby, Mess Around, and Sweetie Little Jean. But there are also a few songs that collectively act as counterweights.
Fourth track Too Late To Say Goodbye is amazing. Dirty, dramatic, and gut-wrenchingly melancholic, it would fit perfectly over the opening credits in a Bond movie – and two tracks beyond it comes the gently anxious Trouble, a masterclass in classic arrangement that doesn’t let go until it’s time for the acoustic-driven How Are You True to dance downheartedly around a standout lyrical and vocal performance. This is the sound of a band turning all the things that make them them into something spellbinding.
Overall: A finely balanced, carefully crafted album. Controlled chaos and deep-mined emotionality. Very cool.
TMMP RATING: 91%
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Head to Cage The Elephant’s official website to see all the ways you can buy Tell Me I’m Pretty.