CAGE THE ELEPHANT * THANK YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY
(Relentless Records)
I was first introduced to Cage the Elephant in August of 2009, when they held the opening slot at a State Theatre show featuring Manchester Orchestra and headlined by Silversun Pickups. My brother and I got there early (which is very much unlike us), right near the beginning of Cage the Elephant's set. I had heard a bit of 93X-ish buzz about the young Kentuckians, and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of verve frontman Matt Schultz displayed. At one point, the spastic leader climbed into one of the faux theatre boxes perched near the sides of the stage (ya know, the ones that are usually reserved for Statler & Waldorf) to perform a track...then he got stuck and had to be rescued by a not-so-glamourous crew member.
That aside, let's talk about their sophomore effort Thank You, Happy Birthday. While Cage the Elephant's collective stage presence is definitely positive, it does not translate on a recording. From the lazy opener "Always Something" to the unnecessarily over-the-top "Indy Kidz" to the sad attempt to be retrospective closer "Flow," Cage the Elephant really had no idea what they wanted to do with this album. Well, the one thing they did do consistently was create simple, repetitive vocal patterns on virtually every track which bore you into a daze. For a band that commands respect on account of their constant touring schedule, they really don't deserve much of it for this album.
Grade: D+
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