[rating=3.00]
Bowling Green, Kentucky has never been a hot spot of start-up rock bands, but Cage The Elephant, led by brothers Matt and Brad Shultz have garnered a worthwhile buzz as garage rockers, making them Kentucky’s second most popular rockers behind My Morning Jacket. Not to be composed with Jim James’ brand of jam rock, Cage The Elephant’s offer a colorful flavor that is reminiscent of G Love’s spoken word rhymes on “In One Ear” and “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked.” But no matter how promising Cage The Elephant appear on one track, the rest suffer from being one of – you heard one you heard them all (probably on a Hives or White Stripes CD).
This is clearly a band in the rookie stages as they borrow a lot from their influences, leaving the listener to ask – “so what does Cage the Elephant really sound like?” The garage punk blues is tight and the sound permeates of tight jeans, thrift store tees and unwashed hair. These kids do it well, but they are a few years late as they need to toss in some original tricks to set them apart, as when Schultz sings on “Lotus” – “its all been done and its all been said.” Indeed it has.
