A catchy US hit that’s not afraid to offend mainstream sensibilities.
This has been a surprise hit in the US – a surprise because the second album from Kentucky’s Cage the Elephant’s dares you not to like it. Where their eponymous debut was hailed as a 21st century take on grunge back in 2008, this follow-up digs deeper into 80s post-punk and hardcore to create something altogether pricklier.
Singer Matthew Schultz howls, screams, growls and whimpers like a transforming werewolf while his guitarist brother Brad plays tangle-wire riffs throughout that sound like Joey Santiago being strung up by his own E string. On Indy Kidz, CTE even mock their own (potential) fanbase with an intentionally discordant gutter-rock splatter featuring a wailing blues breakdown and Schultz’s open-throated croaks and lisping impression of a geeky indie scene victim desperate to "get the right haircut". Provocative and anti-trendster, it’s what everyone told you The Vines were like in 2001.
Lees de rest van deze review op BBC CD recensies (Engels)
Bron: BBC Music