After the deserved success of Tell Me I’m Pretty in 2017 and Social Cues in 2020, everything seemed to go wrong for Cage The Elephant. First, Matt and Brad Schultz’s father died in the early months of the pandemic, forcing the cancellation of most of the shows planned in support of Social Cues. Matt then experienced episodes of psychosis, the result of side effects caused by prescribed medications. This culminated in the singer’s arrest in January 2023 at New York’s Bowery Hotel – he was charged with illegal possession of a firearm.
A year later, he was exonerated, as stated in the court decision which ordered him to maintain impeccable conduct at all times. Now weaned off his medication, Schultz returned to the studio to refine the work on the album that had been started during the pandemic.
References to his condition are thus evoked without filter, notably in the title song, Neon Pill, but in a spirit which tends to confirm that the singer has put his darkest days behind him. Indeed, the first six songs of Cage The Elephant’s new collection exude happiness, with frankly catchy pop choruses. Rainbowwith its rhythm groovy and its very funk style, shows in particular a dancing side of the Kentucky group which is in perfect harmony with the luminous words of Schultz: “You lift me up when I’m down, got me floating like a rainbow”.
The first half of the album is also marked by excellent ballads Float into the Sky And Out Loudwhich then gives way to an indie-rock sequence which is more reminiscent of the group’s last two opuses and which finally convinces us that this album ultimately has nothing to envy of its predecessors. Ball and Chain, Good Time, Shy Eyes And Silent Picture are all songs that we hope to hear on August 26 at the Bell Center – the American sextet has just embarked on a 45-date North American tour.
Rock
Neon Pill
Cage The Elephant
RCA Records