User blog:WaglingtonŒ/Album Reviews

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As someone who cares for music quite a bit and loves sharing my thoughts on things, I thought it was about time I launch one of these. I'll do my best to periodically make new additions to the blog with new reviews.

So here's how it'll work:

Either by personal interest or suggestion from a wikian, I'll listen to an album a few times through and rate each song on a scale of 1-10 with a few personal thoughts attached. Once I've reached a reasonable score for each track, I'll take all the scores and average them to come up with my overall rating for the album (not always the case; if otherwise, it will be stated as such). I'll try to be diverse with my album pickings - many will be recent releases, though there will be occassional throwbacks.

Without further ado, let's get started!

Cage the Elephant - Tell Me I'm Pretty (January 12)


Album Release Date: Decemeber 18, 2015

As an avid listener of the band since the release of its third album Melophobia, I was fairly excited for this album to come out. Cage the Elephant have proven themselves to be a very diverse band and I was eager for them to release their fourth album to see what they have in store for us. However, the band's very dedicated fanbase has been skeptical of the album since the release of its first single, Mess Around.

It seems this album is most heavily inspired by early psychedelic bands and, quite obviously, a mix of modern rock, the type you hear from the Black Keys. But are things a bit too inspired this time?

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gik-njvvd8I Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl7cF9bwNHE
 * Cry Baby - The album kicks off with the simple, easy to disgest Cry Baby. Though by all means a solid track, it's very clear from the first few seconds that CTE's sound has very drastically changed. It lacks the distinctive edge that the band's first three albums had. But that's not necessarily a bad thing - I appreciate that a band like CTE can change, evolve, and experiment with new types of music. A song about nothing really in particular, I'd argue its one weak point is the chorus, which many fans criticize as somewhat underwhelming. As a matter of fact, the whole song is a bit lacking vocally. Towards the end, it devolves into this sort of strange jam-session where all the different parts are playing at once and Matt's vocals are just dragging along, which contributes an entire minute to the track's runtime. Still, I think the song holds up in the end. 6/10.
 * Mess Around - The most controversial song on the album, also coincidentally its lead single. The general concensus is that this song is the worst track not just on the album, but in all of CTE's music so far. Personally, I think that judgment is a bit of a stretch; I wasn't a fan of some of the stuff on Thank You Happy Birthday, and I certainly think there are worse songs. Though admittedly, this song is fairly weak in terms of lyrics, chorus, instrumental - pretty much everything. Thankfully, with all that said, the song is still quite catchy and has a short but very, very sweet solo towards the end. 6/10.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBaaF9yhcO8 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxL4XVs_B9M
 * Sweetie Little Jean - This is one track that honestly surprised me in the nicest possible way. The subject, without giving too much away, is about the disappearance of a little girl and the effects the event has had on the narrator and the community of her town as a whole. A very emotional and touching song with a rough, hard rock exterior, Sweetie Little Jean really deviates from the pattern of most other tracks on this album, and that deviation pays off. It's refreshing, it's new, and it's clearly a song the band spent a lot of time and effort on. 8/10.
 * Too Late to Say Goodbye - The big, climactic song of the album, that had me hooked on my first listening. Just listen to it: it sounds like it belongs in a Bond movie opening sequence. However, after a while, the song got a bit old, and some of its previous highlights grew a bit stale to me. Even with that said, this is one song that really demonstrates the band's maturity and storytelling skills. And it does tell a story - what it is is just up to you. If you can suspend your doubts just until the chorus, you're guaranteed to experience the badass undertone that this song has and enjoy every second of it. 7/10.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehm2SUYQbQI Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcDYTcTXtI8 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ADQ6rl6IY Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhfBGfiVqVI Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liSowmzDRBs Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4RNsTcD7-k
 * Cold Cold Cold - Like Sweetie Little Jean, this track deviates slightly from what one would expect and hooks the listener right from the start with really chilling arrangement and lyrics that sound like they were written by an intensive care patient. Simple in its meaning but very deliberate and almost masterful in its execution, Cold Cold Cold is one song that really shines on this album and is sure to stick with you if you can get past its unorthodox sound. 8/10
 * Trouble - CTE has long struggled to find their own sound and meaning, though songs like Trouble can sometimes make you doubt they're really trying. Seriously, listen to Where is My Mindby the Pixies and then listen to Trouble. It's almost too clear where their inspiration is coming from, and I think the track suffers for it. Still, it's hard to get past the very touching lyrics and you've got to give the band credit for the fairly solid delivery. It's a song that evokes many emotions in the right listener, and I think that's how the song was written. The band has always been very good at painting a pretty clear picture with its lyrics and sound but still leaving a lot to imagination. Despite kind of being a blatant ripoff, I appreciate the track overall. 7/10.
 * How Are You True - Fittingly placed right next to Trouble, How Are You True is just as potent (if not more) with its somber lyrics and delivery with ten times the originality. Wasted time is a subject the band explored on their previous track and really expand upon here. The song is written almost like it switches back and forth between two perspectives: the caring friend of a very depressed person who feels they have nothing left to offer the world, and said person's harsh inner monologue that never seems to leave them. With poignant guitars, haunting backing vocals, and a top notch performance by the lead singer, How Are You True is a contender for the best track on the album. 9/10.
 * That's Right - In a down mood right after hearing the last track? No problem, because That's Right immediately kicks things back into high gear with a return to the carefree, fun-loving theme of the band's first two albums. I've heard this track described as almost like a really goofy homage to the Scooby Doo theme and honestly I can hear where they're coming from. But that type of thing is what makes this song so enjoyable to listen to. It's a reminder from the band to the listener to stop worrying and just go with the flow like they were meant to do. The instruments really compliment that theme and are just as upbeat and wild as the lyrics. That's Right is a favorite of mine, right up there with How Are You True, and I think many old fans would agree with me. 8.5/10.
 * Punchin' Bag - A sharp contrast to That's Right, Punchin' Bag sounds straight of a Tarantino film and has a very serious (but not too serious) message behind it that should be very apparent to any listener. Though the song has a few questionable design choices, at its core Punchin' Bag is a strong track and has a slightly more involved delivery by the lead singer compared to other songs on the album, and that certainly contributes to its score. 7/10.
 * Portuguese Knife Fight - With a title like that on a closing song, one would probably expect a dramatic and intense closer that leaves you shaken and satisfied with what you've heard. And though Knife Fight is a good track, I can't help but feel like it belonged somewhere in the middle and that there could have been a stronger closer for the album. In my mind, albums should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and Knife Fight just doesn't sound like an end. Still, its carefree lyrics and vocals are a charming throwback to the band's earlier material, and it holds up alright on its own. 6/10.

Closing Thoughts

Slightly weighted, my final score for Tell Me I'm Pretty is a solid 7. The band is still very much trying to find its own sound in the sea of old and new music that they're drawing inspiration now, but the album displays a very keen sense of growth and maturity. They're not the same band they were in 09, and I applaud them for that. Overall, I enjoyed the album and found it to be a worthy followup to the success of Melophobia. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in trying something new, though some songs may be harder to get into than others.

David Bowie - Blackstar
Coming soon...