Melophobia (CD) | Mint (M) Mint (M)

Personnel: Jeff Coffin (saxophone); Mike Haynes (trumpet); Roy Agee (trombone). Photographer: Colin Lane. Among new millennial '90s alt-rock revivalists, Cage the Elephant are distinguished by their elegantly sculpted melodicism and their eagerness to smooth their scuzz-rock -- equal parts Pixies and classic Nuggets -- to make their rock palatable to the masses. The two characteristics go hand and hand -- good melodies always beg for proper presentation -- and CTE's predilection for polish isn't without precedent: Pixies producer Gil Norton was many things but raw was not one of them. To their considerable credit, Cage the Elephant don't sound stuck in any one of their possible pasts on 2013's Melophobia, their third album and their most assured LP to date. Influences and heroes can be heard -- the Pixies, sure, but also the Strokes on the tightly wound "Take It or Leave It," the Kills (whose Alison Mosshart guests on "It's Just Forever") -- but Cage the Elephant aren't recycling, they're synthesizing, mashing big, and swinging jagged guitars with candied melodies, furious rhythms, a slight hint of soul, and an echo of new wave. Melophobia is a thoroughly modern rock record, where all the past is alive in the present, so if you've ever had affection for any alt-rock sound from the '80s through the 2000s, it's hard not to find something to enjoy here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

BRAND NEW

Label: RCA – 88883-76277-2, DSP (4) – 88883-76277-2

Format: CD, Album

Country: US

Released: Oct 8, 2013

Genre: Rock

Style: Alternative Rock

1                          Spiderhead     3:43

2                          Come A Little Closer 3:49

3                          Telescope        3:48

4                          It's Just Forever

Featuring, Written-By [Additional] – Alison Mosshart

3:30

5                          Take It Or Leave It       3:27

6                          Halo     2:58

7                          Black Widow  3:07

8                          Hypocrite        4:09

9                          Teeth   5:27

10                        Cigarette Daydreams              3:29

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – RCA Records

Copyright © – RCA Records

Recorded At – St. Charles, Nashville, TN

Mixed At – Electric Lady Studios

Mastered At – Sterling Sound

Distributed By – Sony Music Entertainment

Marketed By – Sony Music Entertainment

Engineer – Jason Hall

Engineer [Assisted By] – Matt Wheeler

Mastered By – Tom Coyne

Mixed By – Tom Elmhirst

Mixed By [Assisted By] – Ben Baptie

Musician [Cage The Elephant Are:] – Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Lincoln Parish, Matt Shultz (2)

Producer, Recorded By – Jay Joyce

Saxophone – Jeff Coffin (tracks: 7 to 9)

Trombone – Roy Agee (tracks: 7 to 9)

Trumpet – Mike Haynes (tracks: 7 to 9)

Written-By, Composed By, Performer – Cage The Elephant

Packaged in cardboard gatefold

 

Recorded at St. Charles, Nashville, TN

Mixed at Electric Lady Studios

Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC

 

℗ & © 2013 RCA Records

Barcode (Printed): 8-8883-76277-2 6

• Media Condition: Mint (M)
• Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
• Format Detail: CD
• Format: CD
• Genre: POP
• Released: 10/08/2013