Posts Tagged ‘Cage The Elephant’

“Sell yourself, don’t be a fool!” gurgles Matt Shultz, the wiggly frontman for Cage the Elephant, midway through the young Kentucky-bred band’s second album. He’s yelling at the hipsters and fakes whose convolutions confuse and upset him, but he’s surely also offering himself a warning.

Having gained notoriety a couple of years back for intense live shows and memorable singles like 2008’s slouchy, sexy “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” Shultz and his pals, including brother Brad on guitar and secret weapon Daniel Tichenor on bass, stand at a crucial juncture. Can Cage the Elephant survive the scrutiny of jaded aficionados who call its drum kit-toppling yet sweet-toothed approach to guitar bashery nothing but a rehash of flannel rock? This set of ripping rave-ups and effortlessly tasty singalongs answers YES, in all caps.

The band’s influences are obvious. Songs like “Aberdeen,” a nod to Kurt Cobain’s hometown, and the shameless Pixies rewrite “Around My Head” trash and lovingly refashion those sources the way kids take apart their toys during the winter holidays. It helps that these pilferers have great taste. They run like rabbits from the stultifying bottom end of grunge, instead honoring what was hot and sweet about ‘90s rock: the raucousness of its hooks and the accessibility of its noise.

To read the full review visit the LOS ANGELES TIMES

To hear some new tunes from the album visit MYSPACE

Cage the Elephant have just released ‘Shake Me Down,’ the first single from their forthcoming album, ‘Thank You, Happy Birthday,’ due out on Jan. 11.

According to Spinner, the new album was recorded in just two weeks at Nashville’s Tragedy/Tragedy studio in 2009. The band originally had over 80 song ideas, but they were all ultimately scrapped.

“We started working on the second record and basically scratched all those ideas,” singer Matt Shultz says. “There were a lot of things happening at that time; personal growth and growth as a band. We ended up renting some cabins at a lake in Kentucky and isolated ourselves in the middle of winter. No cell phone reception — it kind of felt like ‘Survivior.’”

To read the complete article visit AOL RADIO Click here to hear  the new single, “Shake Me Down”

Footage by Kenny Howell

Catch them live: The quintet — Matt, 26; his brother Brad (guitarist), 28; Lincoln Parish (guitar), 19; Daniel Tichenor (bass), 29; and Jared Champion (drummer), 28 — brings its gritty, frenetic sound to the Stone Temple Pilots’ tour starting Aug. 10.

Modest beginnings: Growing up in a Pentecostal household, the Shultz brothers were allowed to listen to gospel music only. But their father, a freight truck driver, was once a musician and occasionally would play a Joe Walsh or Pink Floyd album for the kids.

Dumpster diving: The family lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Bowling Green, Ky., so it wasn’t easy to slip music past their mother. But that didn’t stop them from trying. “We found a drum kit in a dumpster and dragged it into our apartment,” Matt Shultz says. “We used coat hangers as drumsticks.” Brad bought his first guitar from a neighborhood kid for $20. “The back had fallen off, so we duct-taped it on,” his brother says.

To read the complete story visit USA TODAY