On their fourth album,
Tell Me I'm Pretty
, Kentucky rock band
Cage the Elephant
still can't shake their influences. Over the course of
's career, each step along the way has attracted attention for the sounds they incorporated:
Nirvana
,
Beck
the Strokes
Arctic Monkeys
the White Stripes
Pixies
. Now, enter
the Black Keys
. It's no surprise, given that the head
Key
Dan Auerbach
, produced the album at his Easy Eye Studio in Nashville. Entwined in their Southern-fried rock sound,
Auerbach
brings an organic production to
, reportedly using first takes and scratch vocals. So while the band's sound has softened somewhat -- there's less rollicking fury and the feral edges have been smoothed (most notably on the plaintive beauty "How Are You True") -- the fresh depth and grit heard here are reminiscent of
' evolution once they hooked up with
Josh Homme
. As with that relationship, the young band's sound naturally takes on the flavor of the producer's band, and it's mostly for the better.
's signature
Black Keys
sound pops up on a few tracks: most notably on first single "Mess Around," which is a perfect
El Camino
hip-shaker, as well as the stomping "Punchin' Bag." Elsewhere, glimmers of former ferocity briefly pop up, especially on the sneering sleazy album closer "Portuguese Knife Fight," which sounds like "Down on the Street"
Iggy Pop
fronting the aforementioned
lads. For fans of the "old"
Cage
, the sparkly twang of "Trouble" harks back to their
hero worship heyday: it apes "Where Is My Mind?" so expertly it even includes the line "God don't let me lose my mind." Despite the clear connections, it's not completely derivative.
are maturing and their songs have a new heft to them, which may drive away some old diehards but will certainly attract new followers. ~ Neil Z. Yeung