A Classic Album Review by Zack Holden

Cage the Elephant’s angsty self-titled debut album can be described in a singular word: bold. From the punchy opening “In One Ear” to the funky closing “Free Love”, the album commands attention like a teenage asshat driving a tuned BMW 3-Series with an oversized spoiler and farty cherry-bomb exhaust note. Loud, fast, and oh-so cynical, when Cage the Elephant is playing it’s nearly impossible to ignore, which is what makes it such a brilliant debut album. For a young band from Bowling Green, Kentucky, (not exactly the musical capital of the world) trying to enter the alternative scene during its early 2000s heyday, getting noticed through strong singles and early albums was everything. And Cage the Elephant just screamed, “Yeah, we’re here. You’re welcome.”

In case anyone was skeptical as to whether Cage the Elephant thought they deserved respect, the opener “In One Ear” quickly puts the question to rest. The first track off of their first album is literally one giant middle finger to all the people who doubted them. If that’s not bold, then I don’t know what is. Yet, it is this chip-on-your-shoulder attitude that made the song – and the album in its entirety – resonate so much with me. After dealing with idiots all day in a box office, like the woman who said that the John Mellencamp concert was too loud (it’s a rock concert, for crying out loud) or the guy who asked if he could bring a beer bong into the venue (surprisingly, he was able to under the whole “everything except kegs and open flames” policy), I can recall many a late summer night driving home and blasting the song at full volume with the windows down. I could feel my own frustration seeping away as I belted out the bitter, sarcastic chorus. Few can convey raw, primal emotion with the same ferocity and adeptness as Matt Shultz, with Nick Bockrath absolutely shredding on the guitar, adeptly supported by Brad Shultz and Matthan Minster. Daniel Tichoner’s fundamental bassline and Jared Champion’s pounding percussion round out the song’s organized chaos nicely.

The introductory riff, a masterpiece of guitar layering that combines acoustic and slide guitars, perfectly blends blues, southern rock, and punk elements to create an unparalleled sound.

That being said, it wasn’t enough for Cage the Elephant to just attack their critics on the level with “In One Ear”. The next track, “James Brown”, lampoons poseurs, claiming that they openly disrespect “genuine” artists and sell out the artists’ reputations in order to turn a quick buck until inevitably being called into question. “James Brown” rolls straight into the self-titled album’s lead single (and Cage the Elephant’s most popular single to date), the anti-ballad “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”. There’s no other way to put it: this song just slaps. The introductory riff, a masterpiece of guitar layering that combines acoustic and slide guitars, perfectly blends blues, southern rock, and punk elements to create an unparalleled sound. A commentary on how societal outcasts often need to lead lives of crime in order to survive, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” follows the narrator, presumably a regular Joe, through a day wherein he encounters three instances of low-life behavior: prostitution, robbery, and embezzlement. In true Cage the Elephant acerbity, the narrator, who is initially curious about what causes people to turn to crime, ultimately concludes that people will just do anything in search of the almighty dollar. Then, just as the song fades out, Shultz’s rough chant hits like a Mack truck and Bockrath’s rough, speeding guitar brings the tempo to a fevered pitch as the whole ensemble rushes headlong into “Tiny Little Robots”.

The rest of Cage the Elephant bobs and weaves with varying pace, all while maintaining that unshakable tongue-in-cheek pessimism. “Back Against the Wall” softens the attack going into the B-side. “Back Stabbin’ Betty”, a southern-influenced punk-metal onslaught, precursors “Full Blown Meltdown” on PUP’s Morbid Stuff. “Free Love” closes the debut album with a punch. Clocking in at just over 37 minutes, Cage the Elephant is lean, with all filler effectively trimmed. The album never drags, and all the tracks transition seamlessly without hazily blurring together. And all that cynicism and angst? It would be admittedly cheesy in the wrong hands (e.g. emo pop-punk artists like Panic! At the Disco and My Chemical Romance), but Cage the Elephant navigates treacherous terrain well, bridging the gap between overselling and not fully developing a critical theme. 

This self-titled debut album pioneered a revolutionary punk sound that has yet to be recreated (even by Cage the Elephant themselves), and as such established them as a key early-2000s alt-rock act. Not bad for a bunch of cocky Bowling Green punks.