Review Summary: Cage the Elephant deliver a solid sophomore effort
"In One Ear" and "Ain't no Rest for the Wicked" sure are great right? I mean seriously, those two single give something to every rock lover. There's the slide guitar, the witty lyrics, the anthemic choruses and some great drums thrown into the mix; so of course the album these came from has to be just as good. Alas, that isn't true. The Kentucky quintet's debut LP was an up and down affair, with the high points being the three singles and "Judas" and the low points being just about everything else. Now we have their second album "Thank You, Happy Birthday", and thankfully they get better.
The album starts with the psychedelic wailing's of "Always Something" and "Aberdeen" before going into the demented surf rock of "Indy Kidz". I have to admit, these first three tracks almost made stop the album completely and forget about. Matt Shultz voice is so terrifyingly distorted that it make my ears almost bleed. Then he goes quieter with "Shake Me Down" (the albums first single). In "Shake...", Shultz's voice is creepily child like while Lincoln Parish plays soft guitar. From time to time, the rest of the band join to form loud thrash outs and then it quiets down again. The next track, "2024" returns to their garage funk sound of the debut and it isn't the album's strongest track but it is a lot more pleasant then the first three songs. Shultz then starts screaming in the mic for track six "Sell Yourself", which reminds me of "Take Me Out" (Franz Ferdinand 2003) in the way it plays around with time signatures. The band then goes slow again on the next two tracks "Rubber Ball" and 'Right Before My Eyes". Although I criticized his voice earlier, Matt can be downright beautiful when he slows down with the rest of the band. They then go back to the debut with "Around My Head" (the second single). Although not as good as the first single, "Around..." is incredibly catchy with wonderfull synthesizer and a loud chorus. They then return to that hardcore garage sound with "Sell Yourself", which isn't my favorite track though I can see it's audience. The next track "Japanese Buffalo" sounds like a song written by The Dead Weather, with its screamed verses and eclectic chorus. The last track "Flow", closes the album on a quiet note with Matt singing on a multi-track and Jared Champion's drums sounding like the quiet before a storm.
All in all the album is very well made and its pros outweigh its cons. Sure some tracks didn't work for me, especially when they veered heavily into garage punk territory, but their is definitely an audience for it. Check it out.
