Album Review: Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant
Cage the Elephant
2009 DSF/Jive Records

# of spins (out of 5):

Wow. It’s not often that I hear a band that gets me genuinely excited about their future. And even less often do I hear an entire album that is filled to the brim with flawless rock n’ roll. And even rarer than that, is when said band with said CD hails from my home state of Kentucky.

Cage the Elephant springs from rural Bowling Green…home of Western Kentucky University and the Corvette Plant and a big hill in the center of town. That’s about it, folks. However, it seems boredom is perfect foundation for unique, throbbing rock n’ roll, with an honest to God pulse. The influences here are a circus – spanning the Allman Brothers, to G-Love, to Hank Jr., to Red Hot Chili Peppers, to James Brown (see the song “James Brown”) – and it all works flawlessly.

The band has already caught on in Europe, but has yet to get a foothold here in the states. With their single “No Rest for the Wicked” rapidly climbing on iTunes and getting added to radio station rotations all over the country, it’s only a matter before this band is EVERYWHERE. Matt Schulz’s voice has chameleon-like quality, from hard rock screams, to country wails, to a hip-hop bounce – it can pretty much do anything he wills it to do.

The only drawback is that songs like “In One Ear” and “Lotus” are so pain-stakingly good, that they almost eclipse the songs around them, which are equally as brilliant in their own right. The only reason I didn’t give this an A+ is because “No Rest for the Wicked” is a great song, but I don’t like it as a lead single for the album…it is in no way representative of exactly how much this band rocks. Buy this album. Experience this album. Love this album.

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Concert Review: Rachael Yamagata

Rachael Yamagata (w/ The Fervor)
3/19/2009 - Hard Rock Cafe, Louisville, KY

Rachael Yamagata’s set at the Hard Rock Café moved beautifully like a slow burning candle. She weaved through a lot of the material on her new album Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart as well as classics from her eponymous debut album 2004’s Happenstance. Her voice sits on the pallet like a long drink of whiskey, while her lyrics seem to weigh as heavy on your conscience as they obviously do on Yamagata’s.

When she pulled out “Elephants”, “What if I Leave?”, and “Sunday Morning” from Elephants…, the songs carried a much more palapale charge than they do in their respective studio versions do. “Duets” is a stand out track on the album, however live it falls a little thin without Ray LaMontagne’s wavering vocals to accompany her rasp wrought voice.

As always she really stood out when she turned things up a notch and pulled out some of her more up tempo tracks. “Sidedish Friend”, which is a song I haven’t been able to escape since hearing it on the record, is a powerhouse live track. The song is about a shallow, strictly physical relationship with someone you don’t even particularly like or want to spend time with, and it works wonderfully with gritty guitars and one hell of a pop hook. Sadly though, the lyrics are so easily relatable it kind of makes me sick at myself. Hearing her versions of “Faster”, “Worn Me Down” and “Reason Why” (which was featured on The Last Kiss soundtrack) were also special treats from Yamagata to the audience.

The only missing piece form the whole night, was Yamagata’s cover of R.E.M.’s “The Great Beyond” – a song that she knocked out of the ballpark last month at Carnegie Hall.

Local favorites The Fervor opened the show with an amazing set of moody while entrancing songs that revel in anguish and heart break. The band nails a quirky sense of sensuality with their gorgeous song “Same State”.

**Photos from Milwaukee, WI 3/24/2009**

A Must See...

Proving once and for all...Music truly is the universal language. This is beautiful, everyone needs to watch this...


Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Thoughts on U2's "No Line on the Horizon"

by: Andrew Pryor and Brent Owen

(We might have strayed from the topic)

Pryor’s first note on U2 “No Line on the Horizon”:

1st song (No Line...) is lame... man i'm disappointed... hope the rest of the album isn't like this... i like the music a lot but not Bono's voice...

the 2nd song (Magnificent) is better than the first.....

Song 3 (Moment) - Don't like... is that hand claps?

Song 4 (Unknown Caller)- Ok... may grow on me, may not...

Song 5 (I'll go crazy...) - Good. Solid u2 tune.

Song 6 (Get on your boots) - starts off good... may grow on me... i know a lot of folks don't like this one but I do, sounds very u2-ish and makes sense it's the single to me...

Song 7 (Stand up...) - Liked a lot... ... minus a bit of Bono's crooning which he does a lot on this album... could have almost been on Achtung Baby....

Song 8 (FEZ) - love the music, my favorite tune on here

song 9 - (White as Snow) - u2 meets "o come o come Emmanuel"... not sure what they were doing here...

song 10 - (Breathe) hate it... bring in the guy that sang on the last several u2 albums...

song 11 - (Cedars) - boring and redundant...

Not sure what happened... you have 3 of the best producers (Lanois, Eno, Lillywhite) in the biz with one of the best bands in the business and you end up with this... Maybe Brian Eno won out too much...

Overall... pretty lame...music is reaaally good but then there's Bono... but, that's just my opinion... I know my friends who are "u2 can do no wrong" nuts will blast my inability to see u2's brilliance on this one but I'll just sit idly by and bask in my audiological ignorance and be glad I only spent $3.99 at Amazon for this. Also, I have several others new albums this Spring to look forward to including:

Mr. Anonymous (buddy Jeep's alter ego), here's a vid:
http://www.mranonymous.net/musicblog/video/
- "Mr Anonymous 2" due April 19th

Gomez:
http://www.gomeztheband.com/
- "A New Tide" due March 31st

Depeche Mode:
http://www.depechemode.com/
- "Sounds of the Universe" due April 21st

Simple Minds:
http://www.downloadhome.co.uk/simpleminds/index.php
- "Graffiti Soul" due May 9th

Mute Math:
http://www.youtube.com/mutemath
- something due in August

Brent’s Response:

Just got the new U2. I like it with the premise of its U2 stepping out of the “U2 Box” - it’s the daring bone they pull out ever decade and a half (i.e. Zooropa or Pop). By that standard, I kinda dig it, however it’s not in my top 5 favorite U2 albums. I do, LOVE “Magnificent”. I think that song could have been ripped straight off of “Boy” - it’s so retro-U2 it’s not even funny…and I think that’s fantastic.

But don’t fret, they’re going to have their next album out before the end of the year. And I’m betting it’s the sessions they recorded with Rick Rubin before scrapping the whole project and starting from scratch with “No Line on the Horizon”. With Rick Rubin (who’s production value drastically outweighs all three of the gentlemen on this album) behind the board, it can’t be wrong. I mean he even made Neil Diamond listenable.

And Simple Minds…really?

Pryor’s Response:

Brent -

That’d be great. I’d love more u2. The more the better, I say. And I agree with your take. Sometimes you’re right on. ;)

Simple Minds? Yep… they’ve put out better and better music over the years… and yes, politically charged too… musically, they’re still at their game and far removed from the 80s that everyone likes to pigeon hole them in… I mean, if u2 isn’t tied forever to Joshua Tree, then why does Simple Minds have to be forever tied to Alive and Kicking? Now, grant it, they haven’t been reinventing themselves all the time, but they have progressed and matured and I love their stuff much more today than I did back then. It’s certainly not just nostalgia. Not that it’s a bad thing… after all, everyone like Joshua Tree the best still, yes? :)

Brent’s second response:

I don’t mean to discount Simple Minds - it was just surprising to see their name pop up since I literally don’t think I’ve heard anything from them since Breakfast Club. It’s not unfathomable to me that they might be good, there are lots of bands I find amazing that others scoff at, including but not exclusive to: Soul Asylum, Better Than Ezra, and even The Smiths/Morrissey (Morrissey’s new album “Years of Refusal” falls barely short of true brilliance, I love that record). So I’m not knocking - I will allow for growth from anyone, it just seemed a little out of the blue. But I don’t tolerate growth from Green Day, though…they hit their maturity peek with “Good Riddance (the time of your life)”, it’s all been down hill from there. And since we know I’m a bleeding heart liberal - one might assume I support their anti-Bush sentiments…that would be false. Asinine political statements are not signs of growth, but rather they are simply asinine political statements, nothing more.

Currently Listening to...

Rachael Yamagata

Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart

On the first disc (Elephants) Singer/Songwriter whose aching voice and morose arrangements haunt your psyche like a 4:00 am cigarette with tracks like "What If I Leave", "Sunday Afternoon" and "Duet" (an appropriately titled duet with Ray LaMontagne). She also steps out of her well-defined box and turns up amplifiers (and the attitude too) with Teeth Sinking Into Heart. "Sidedish Friend" is a scathing ode to a friend-with-benefits. And "Don't" has one of the most flawlessly idiosyncratic lines I've heard recently when she sings: "Don't fuck me in front of me".

Must hear: "Little Life", "Sunday Afternoon", "Duet", "Sidedish Friend", "Accident", "Faster", and "Don't"

David Gray

The EP's '92-'94

British Songster allows us to pillage his vaults with this collection of his early recordings. His voice timid like wounded bird he navigates us through the labyrinth of his broken heart. The arrangements are sparse, him and an acoustic guitar mostly, but the lyrics are the show piece here. He doesn't break new ground, but he gives the old ground a badly needed mowing.

Must hear: "Birds Without Wings", "L's Song", "Shine", "Lovers", "4:AM", "Come Down"


Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Jason Isbell, the prodigal guitarist and singer for Drive-By Truckers, has written an formittable follow-up to his brilliant debut Sirens of the Ditch. Self-titled he channels R&B greats and rock n' roll classics. "Seven Mile Island" is less sarcastic re-telling of "Sympathy for the Devil" as his drummer rolls beneath a swirling guitar riff. On "Cigarettes and Wine" Isbell recounts doomed relationship with a trainwreck of a woman. While "Soldiers Get Strange" is a dark follow-up to "Dress Blues" off of Sirens. He finishes the song with "The Last Song I Will Write"...God let's hope that isn't true.

Must hear: "Sunstroke", "Good", "Cigarettes and Wine", "No Choice in the Matter", "The Last Song I Will Write"

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Show Review: The Felice Brothers

The Felice Brothers
4/24/09 "Live Lunch", WFPK Studios, Louisville, KY

Hey, just got back from WFPK's Live Lunch with The Felice Brothers. The band was amazing, stoned and on'ry at noon...but their brilliance never dimmed. They're a nightmarish jug band who never seems to run out of dope...and I mean this in the very best way possible. Oh, and watching the Laura Shine try to interview these guys was worth the price of admission (which was free) alone.

The fraternal collective that hails from upstate New York was on point as they knocked out songs from their newly released album Yonder is the Clock like: "Memphis Flu", "Run Chicken Run", "Penn Station", and "The Big Surprise"; as well as dusting off materital from their mellow self-titled debut, such as: "Whiskey in My Whiskey", "Frankie's Gun" and "Ruby Mae".

The seedy ensemble also has a knack for words, with such fantastic lines such as: "I'm like Ahab/in love with the dirty thought/of the fish I never caught" or "You said you won't dance/until I wash my hands/but my hands aren't as dirty as my mind"

You should be able to find the whole performance streaming here (a montage video and the streaming audio just below it).

Louisville Semi-Finals for Hard Rock Cafe: Ambassadors of Rock

CONGRATULATIONS TO BONE JINN!!!















These Hard Rock virtuosos have officially are Semi-finalists for Louisville, hoping to represent the states at London's Hard Rock Calling Festival in June. They might be sharing the stage with The Boss, DMB, The Killers, etc.
Congrats again guys...hopefully you'll make it all the way.

And thanks to runner-up Shindig...you fellas were amazing, I know we'll be hearing from you guys soon.

(stay tuned for a review of Shingdig's new EP coming very soon)

Saint Fest II

Coming tomorrow...
at Skull Alley in Louisville KY
$10.00




















Check out the article I wrote about the show here.

It should be fun. I think I'll show up for a bit...at least long enough to catch Nowhere Fast.

Welcome Back...

So...

it's been a long time since I've last posted here...but I've been wondering what I want to do with this. Alas, I've decided...onward and upward.

Therefore...

...We're Baaaaack...