Cage, The Elephant – Thank You, Happy Birthday

Cage the Elephant is one of the few bands that manages to hang on to its indie ‘cred’ while benefiting from mainstream exposure.  Harnessing the best of messy experimental noise and balancing it with effervescent melodic pop, the Bowling Gree, Kentucky five-piece offers up a chameleon-like cocktail for dancers and psychedelic daydreamers alike.  Like a present day Beck, Cage the Elephant should appeal to fans of indie, noise, punk, and hip-hop.  At times catchy, and at others abrasive – their sophomore full length, Thank You, Happy Birthday, embodies a far reaching appeal.

Careful to never outstay its welcome Thank You, Happy Birthday is a mixed bag in the best of ways.  Opener “Always Something” kicks off their hybrid style with a rhythmic combination of hip hop soundboard in an uplifting indie pop framework complete with a very Beck styled vocal centrepiece.  Fairly forceful for an opener, follow-up “Aberdeen” seals the deal with robust single-worthy choruses that are a shoe-in for radio play after hits by mainstays like Foster The People.  Other key moments feeding off their knack for catchy choruses climax in events like “Shake Me Down” and “2024,” with the band really letting loose during instances of “Around My Head.”

But for every smooth passage, a firecracker of noise is never far behind.  Songs like the intentionally ironic “Indie Kidz” play off scratchy feedback mechanisms reminiscent of Liam Lynch, making for the type of compositions that would score some serious points with pitchfork, but leave a more casual crowd scratching their heads.  The madness reaches a peak with a sort of “indie breakdown” in the crawling middle of “Sell Yourself” that when taken into account with the vocal static on “Sabertooth Tiger” make for some natural Wavves references.   Take away the fuzz as per “Right Before My Eyes” and Matthew Shultz makes for comfortable comparisons with Lagwagon’s Joey Cape during his Bad Astronaut years.

If Thank You, Happy Birthday proves anything, it’s that Cage the Elephant are masters of pacing.  Take the straightforward combination of acoustic guitar and vocal melody on “Rubber Ball.”  Its simplicity sits completely opposite of anything else on the album, but its inclusion feels natural and expected.  For a sophomore effort, Cage the Elephant put forth their best foot with remarkably solid results.  Thank You, Happy Birthday boasts a touch of something for everyone without succumbing to the pitfalls of the mainstream.  An incredibly catchy outing that bodes well for Cage the Elephant’s long spanning career.