When "Come a Little Closer", Cage the Elephant's first single off of Melophobia, was released, I had a feeling that this album had the potential to be a huge leap in this young Kentucky band's career. My assumption was correct. Melophobia delivers Cage the Elephant's unique blend of psychedelic garage blues with a focus and distinction not seen on the band's first two efforts. Although their debut album was perfect for anyone who wanted to listen to good old-fashioned rock & roll and their second studio album was a pivotal step forward musically, Cage the Elephant gets it right on Melophobia. Significant improvement is made upon where the band wants to go musically, as Matt Shultz's lyrical approach is better than ever. The softer tracks the band has been looking for are there ("Telescope", "Cigarette Daydreams"), but the heavier tracks don't disappear ("Black Widow", "Teeth"). The real improvement is in the heavier tracks, which are much more listenable compared to previous efforts ("Sabertooth Tiger"). The band has a tendency to focus on a much lighter sound for this album, which isn't such a bad thing, as the softer cuts are what makes this LP such a good listen. Overall I love what I'm seeing from this young band, and my hope is that they just keep doing what they're doing, because what they're doing is making some pretty damn good music. Tracks to check out: "Spiderhead", "Telescope",
4/5 Stars
-Jared