robert wakeley

Easily Cage The Elephant's worst album. Prior to this, "Tell Me I'm Pretty" was my least favorite, but that has now changed. Starting off the tracklist, we have "Hifi (True Light)." There's nothing very memorable about this track. The lyrics "Up down, turn around, left and said it's alright" practically prepares us for the similar rhyme scheme in "rainbow." Both tracks are guilty of lyrics that make you think of the 80's song "You spin me right round, baby right round." However, the real issue with "rainbow" lies in the timing of the lyrics. In certain spots, the lyrics are being crammed into the rhythm and it sounds forced. This is especially apparent in the bridge, where it's just isolated vocals and piano chords. The tempo of the piano slows down and Matt's lyrics speed up. The result is a game of catch-up, that is quite frankly, a little embarrassing. The album title track, "Neon pill," is a snoozer. You'd think there would be more dynamics for such dark subject matter. The vocal melody is very one-dimensional and monotone. The next song, "Float Into The Sky," is a decent tune. The atmospheric instrumental matches the lyrics. I've heard some people complain that the ending part "doesn't go anywhere," but personally it doesn't bother me. "Metaverse" is the best song on the album. Clocking in at just over two minutes, it's a short and sweet song that keeps you coming back for more. "Out Loud" is a decent ballad, yet it doesn't really compare to some of CTE's earlier soft tunes, such as "cigarette daydreams," "right before my eyes," or even "love is the only way." "Ball and chain" has grown on me somewhat. The percussion on it is interesting and the lyrics aren't terrible, if you can forgive the cliche of a "Ball and chain" weighing you down. The bass riff/intro is a nice addition as well. "Good time" has its pros and cons. I find Matt's abstract lyricism in the verses to be interesting. That being said, the chorus is lackluster and overly simplistic. The panning of the guitars from left to right, doesn't add a whole lot to the song. And I also agree with the criticism that it sounds like Matt is saying "ice cream" on the lyric "I scream." The track "Shy Eyes" has grown on me a bit. The post-chorus "You cut through my human condition" sounds unique enough when combined with heavily distorted guitar. The last three songs on the album is where it really falls off for me. "Silent Picture," despite having a catchy guitar riff, has nonsensical lyrics that don't tell any kind of story. And the pre-chorus "I can't breathe," repeated over and over is cringe worthy. "Same" has the worst chorus ever, "I don't want to play those games. Will we ever be the same?" And "over your shoulder" has the atmospheric hype of a good ballad but fails to measure up to that expectation. Yet again, the weak lyrics fall flat. These last three songs might as well have been left out of this album. So overall, there are some really brief highlights on this album. Just enough to escape a one-star review. If you're thinking about buying this one on vinyl, I would stream it first to make sure you like it. It makes me sad to see a band I've followed since high school, to fall off in a real bad way. 2 out of 5.