CRAZES and trends may have came and gone in a cyclical fashion since the dawn of popular music as we know it today but there’s absolutely no purer form of self-expression than good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll.

With the power to uplift, eviscerate, bring to tears or empower its listeners, it takes little more than a healthy dose of ingenuity  and a four piece band to change the entire world.

One band that are astutely aware of just how much power the traditional guitar band holds is Cage The Elephant, the American outfit that have both paid homage to the greats and prodded the genre forward despite its reluctance to stand on its own two feet in the modern era.

An act that’s found themselves controlling quite the global fanbase thanks to the unquenchable thirst for rock ‘n’ roll, there truly is few that do it better than this Kentucky based and that’s something which they most certainly reaffirm throughout the course of their new album Tell Me I’m Pretty. 

Roaring into life with the captivating ‘Cry Baby’, the track masterfully lures the listener into thinking that they’re about to be privy to a boisterous number before Matt Schultz & Co rein themselves in and delve into the territory of 60’s psych rock. Maintaining a wistful atmosphere throughout despite brief allusions to the kind of braggadocio that helped make their name on early albums, the band have adopted a subtle yet no less inviting approach that vaguely resembles the heady and gloriously hypnotic sound that was made famous by The 13th Floor Elevators.

“Has melancholy taken you for good?” Enquires Matt Schultz on ‘Sweetie Little Jean’, an emotionally charged effort which demonstrates their propensity for bearing their innermost thoughts and torments in a way that comes across as sincere and unambigious rather than the frustrating vagueness of many modern outfits.

Their aptitude for soulful rock ‘n’ roll balladry is displayed in all its splendour on ‘Trouble’, one of the album’s most gorgeous compositions and a track which is sure to nestle comfortably amid their fan favourites for years to come. A track that could’ve been torn from the repertoire of The Move or Small Faces in their prime while maintaining that inviting air of Americana that’s long been a staple of their material, ‘Trouble’ is a tentative and considered lament which utilises both dismayed yet spirited bursts of guitar and understated percussion to great effect.

‘Cold Cold Cold’ sees Matt Schultz become entirely unhinged over shimmering organ and a compelling bassline which soon gives way to a ferocious, passion-filled guitar solo which is notably abrupt  but welcomed with open arms.

While their first album since 2013’s fantastic Melophobia was hotly anticipated, an elephant in the room which left many fans panic-stricken in the lead up to its release date was the involvement of their contemporary Dan Auerbach. With the band enlisting The Black Key’s lynchpin as the album’s producer, there were considerable fears that his approach would in some way infringe upon the band’s sound and strip of them of all that made them so special. Luckily; while Auerbach’s presence looms large upon the album, it appears that the band have bonded over a mutual adoration of the inventiveness of 60’s pop as opposed to the rugged modern rock which he’s commonly known for.

With a vaguely similar sonic palette to Auerbach’s side project The Arcs, it’s abundantly clear that the band and their new producer are kindred spirits and have painstakingly honed the album’s 10 tracks into concise yet powerful deluges of psychedelia inspired creativity.

The bluesy ‘Mess Around’ overflows with playful bravado and quirky flourishes while the immensely enjoyable ‘That’s Right’ imports their sensibilities into the decadent world of Mott The Hoople and Sweet.

Placing its protagonist under the microscope, ‘How Are You True?’ is a solemn affair which is punctuated by emotive strings and lolloping percussion work. Whilst it’s hard to tell whether the track is any way autobiographical, it sees Schultz astutely capture the essence of a tortured soul who’s became disillusioned with the evidently troubled figure that stares vacantly back at him from the morbidly unsympathetic mirror.

‘Punchin’ Bag’ sees them begin to cast aside the chains that they’d willingly bound themselves with and hurtle towards a sound which registers as a more mature and refined approach to the untamed output on their eponymous debut while ‘Portuguese Knife Fight’ contains the kind of strutting riff that eludes many bands throughout their whole careers.

The passage of time is inescapable for all and what is unequivocally clear on this record is that Cage The Elephant are maturing before our eyes and aren’t content to be boxed in any longer. Proving that their next evolution has been a fruitful one, Tell Me I’m Pretty sees them incorporate a whole host of new influences and retain the qualities that set them apart whilst staking their claim as one of the modern generation’s most prolific rock ‘n’ roll acts with unmistakable authority.