CheekyChicago

Cage The Elephant’s self-titled debut is about as unapologetic as it gets. For roughly 37 minutes, the listener is taken on a manic joyride, and even through the last song, there’s no real guarantee that the ride is over. It’s their in-your-face, Rolling Stones-meets-Red Hot Chili Peppers-meets-White Stripes approach that makes this an album worth listening to.

Think that might be too much to handle? Well, you might be right. It’s a lot to absorb in a short amount of time. But the beauty of this album is that CTE isn’t afraid to be drastic or over the top. It’s a jarring, yet strangely pleasant change from the more formulaic undertakings of their alternative peers. Lead singer Matt Schultz relentlessly manhandles the microphone, while bandmates Brad Schultz (guitar), Jared Champion (drums/percussion), Daniel Tichenor (bass/vocals) and Lincoln Parish (lead guitar) seemingly play each song until there’s nothing left. They may drown each other out, but you sense rather quickly that it doesn’t matter. They make it seem perfectly natural.

The songs tend to speak for themselves; the band presents them as vignettes. “In One Ear” is a great opener with its hard-hitting rock and blues riffs. “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” is reminiscent of Beck’s “Loser,” and the desperation of “Back Stabbin’ Betty” is simultaneously palpable and elusive.

Catch Cage The Elephant at Charter One Pavilion in August. They’re working on a second album to be released later this year – and if it’s anything like the first, one thing is certain: this is an animal that doesn’t want to be tamed.