vinylfanatics.com

**Cage The Elephant - Tell Me I'm Pretty**
★★★★☆

After spending the better part of a decade perfecting their brand of sweat-drenched garage rock mayhem, Cage The Elephant found themselves at something of a crossroads by 2015. The Kentucky quintet had already established themselves as festival darlings with their raucous live performances and Matt Shultz's unpredictable stage antics, but three albums in, there was a nagging sense that they were perhaps too comfortable in their well-worn denim jacket. Enter Dan Auerbach, fresh from his Black Keys triumphs, wielding a producer's chair like a sonic scalpel and ready to slice away the excess fat from their sound.

The collaboration wasn't entirely unexpected – both acts share a love for blues-soaked American rock traditions – but what emerged from the Nashville sessions was a revelation. *Tell Me I'm Pretty* strips away much of the band's previous kitchen-sink approach, replacing it with a focused intensity that recalls the Strokes' early work while maintaining Cage The Elephant's own restless energy. It's their most cohesive statement yet, a 10-track blast of concentrated rock'n'roll that rarely outstays its welcome.

Opening salvo "Cry Baby" sets the tone immediately, its insistent drum machine pulse and Shultz's falsetto croon creating an atmosphere that's both intimate and expansive. It's a bold choice for an opener, trading their usual full-throttle approach for something more nuanced, and it pays dividends. The song's hypnotic groove, punctuated by serpentine guitar lines that could have slithered off a White Stripes B-side, announces this as a different kind of Cage The Elephant record.

The album's undeniable centerpiece is "Mess Around," a swaggering piece of retro-futuristic rock that sounds like T. Rex jamming with the Stooges in some alternate 1973. Auerbach's production shines here, wrapping the band's performance in a warm analog glow that makes every snare hit feel like a gunshot and every guitar chord ring with purpose. It's the kind of song that demands to be played loud, preferably while driving too fast down empty highways.

"Trouble" continues this winning streak, built around a deceptively simple riff that burrows into your brain and refuses to leave. Shultz's vocals alternate between vulnerable whispers and primal howls, showcasing a range that was sometimes buried beneath the chaos of their earlier work. The rhythm section of Daniel Tichenor and Jared Champion locks into a pocket so tight it could crack walnuts, while Brad Shultz's guitar work finds the sweet spot between economy and expression.

Perhaps the album's most surprising moment comes with "Cold Cold Cold," a track that finds the band exploring more introspective territory without sacrificing their essential wildness. The song builds from a minimal opening into a soaring chorus that recalls the emotional heft of Arcade Fire, proving that Cage The Elephant's palette extends far beyond three-chord thrash.

Not everything here reaches those heights – "Punchin' Bag" feels slightly undercooked despite its infectious energy, and "Portuguese Knife Fight" never quite justifies its provocative title – but these are minor quibbles with an album that succeeds more often than not. Even the lesser tracks benefit from Auerbach's keen ear for detail and the band's newfound discipline.

The album's title track closes proceedings with a surprisingly tender moment, Shultz's vocals floating over gentle acoustic strumming and subtle strings. It's a vulnerable end to an album that finds strength in showing different facets of the band's personality, and it suggests future directions that feel genuinely exciting rather than merely expedient.

In the years since its release, *Tell Me I'm Pretty* has rightfully been recognized as Cage The Elephant's creative peak, a perfect storm of the right band meeting the right producer at exactly the right moment. It earned them a Grammy for Best Rock Album, but more importantly, it established them as more than just another garage rock revival act. The album's influence can be heard in countless indie rock bands who've learned that restraint and focus can be just as powerful as volume and chaos.

This is Cage The Elephant at their most potent – still wild, still unpredictable, but now with the wisdom to know when to pull back and let the songs breathe. It's a pretty compelling argument for artistic growth.