[rating=2.50]
What made Cage the Elephant’s self-titled debut so appealing was that it had both a raw and uncompromising feel to it, while still being a very digestible album. Matt Shultz was able to capture a live sounding, in-your-face, type of style that applied a choke hold on many a person’s first listens. Their second record, Thank You Happy Birthday, continues to have that blend of distorted chaos that combines aggressive rhythmic chords with edgy sarcastic lyrics, though it is slightly more difficult to chew this time around.
An explosive scream covered with a stack of distortion opens the record on the lurking track titled, “Always Something.” The song has a dark, back alley feeling to it as if something is following you around each corner and makes you want to double lock your door. “From the goodness of your heart you save him from the flood, a couple miles down the road he’s covered in your blood,” sings Shultz in front of a dusty western guitar riff in the second verse.
“Sell Yourself” is a chaotic piece that has a torturous feeling throughout it and resembles an illustration of what breaking out of a straight jacket might feel like. Being extremely difficult to follow, it detracts from the flow of the record, but leads up to well deserved break in the music, which introduces a more orchestrated offering titled, “Rubber Ball.” On this track it’s almost like you are falling slowly while listening to an operatic break midway through the song. The harmonies and subtle simplicity give you somewhat of a reassurance. “Right Before My Eyes” maintains the positive direction, but engrain the song in the back of your mind because it makes a stripped down cameo appearance in the closing track titled, “Shiver.”
An advised approach to Thank You Happy Birthday is to filter out the turbulence that may lead you astray while listening to this record; mainly tracks like “Japanese Buffalo,” “Sabertooth Tiger” and “Indy Kidz.” The album itself supports a resembling attitude to the band’s debut, which is a positive, though the lack of focus and maniacal approach, overall, distracts the listener from anything cohesive that is present.
