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Kentucky-bred six piece indie rock fables return with vacant sixth.

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Cage the Elephant have been dazzling us with their cathartic creativity and whimsical placemats since their ’06 tenure. Fortunately enough, their best ideas aren’t all shoehorned into a debut but rather expanded over five going on six albums.

If not for Thank You Happy Birthday (2011) and Melophobia (2013), we’d be looking at a considerably different band. And perhaps a considerably different indie-rock noughties landscape. These powerhouse albums may show uncompromising hooks and jittery grooves marking a sense of anxiety, but the tenders of Tell Me I’m Pretty (2015) show the band in a different light.

Following their most recent Grammy-garnered clusterfuck of magic of Social Cues in 2019, the band return to the fold yet again with Neon Pill – their sixth in the journey.

Although strengthened in tense lead Neon Pill and soothing ballad Out Loud, the album as a whole lacks substance. A considerably one-dimensional indie-rock suggestion of an album, it relies too heavily on Elephant’s trademark strumming and ethereal vocalisations to get it over the line but the majority of the songs fall remarkably flat, seemingly getting lost within one another as they float into the sky. Good Times embraces The Strokes similarities which beefs up a different perspective but doesn’t bring anything essential to the table.

An immediate avoid on this one for me. Just stick to their trusted back catalogue if you want to keep Cage in your playlists. It may be an horrendous suggestion to throw, but perhaps the majority of these late 2000’s alt rock and indie groups should accept that they were once big and call it a night.

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