Social Cues
| Cage the Elephant
Social Cues
Social Cues is the fifth studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Announced on January 31, 2019, the album was released on April 19, 2019. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
RollingStone
The eclectic Kentucky band channels its mid-career angst on a great album.
-
Consequence of Sound
An album of radio-friendly songs that plays it safe when risks might've yielded better.
-
NME
Having spent their glittering career dancing through different sounds, Cage The Elephant truly find themselves on this mature, widescreen fifth album.
-
The Line of Best Fit
Cage the Elephant’s Social Cues is a mish-mash of ideas and missed opportunities.
-
Paste Magazine
If Social Cues isn’t a bad album by any stretch; it’s nonetheless, in the band’s discography, surprisingly generic.
-
PopMatters
Social Cues is easily one of Cage the Elephant's best efforts. Aside from a few uninspiring entries, every inclusion offers something valuable, be it fetchingly catchy radiance or notably moving self-reflection.
-
Gigwise
Social Cues spans 13 tracks laden with honey-sweet vocals and warm synths played over darker, seductive undertones, resulting in their most sophisticated and captivating offering yet.
-
The Skinny
Cage the Elephant’s Social Cues shows that the band can still reach for new sounds while continuing to thump out radio-friendly hits.
-
AP News
His heart may be broken but thanks to this new album, you’ll fall in love all over again with this band.
-
musicOMH
Social Cues is Cage The Elephant’s darkest and most personal album yet.
-
The Crimson
As an album, “Social Cues” takes on the feat of describing both the tiresome anguish of fame alongside failed relationships, albeit with intermittent bouts of hope.
-
Ocolly
It is a disappointing record from a band who won a Grammy on its previous effort.
-
Exclaim!
Social Cues not an overly adventurous record, but it's the sound of a band who know their niche in contemporary alternative rock and how to deliver every time.
-
Genre is Dead
It has its weak moments, but its strong points keep you engaged as you traverse through this journey of loss, anxiety, frustration, and acceptance.
-
Spill Magazine
Social Cues isn’t the best Cage the Elephant album by a long shot but it’s another testament to their staying power.
-
Soundblab
Social Cues is a soul-sucking change in direction.
-
XS Noize
‘Social Cues” in its totality is an attractive and approachable release that skims the top frequently never delving too deep until the last song.
-
Medium
Social Cues fails to meet the mark of what defines a Cage the Elephant album with its lack of risk and eccentric style.
-
Under the Radar
Social Cues has plenty of spectacular music to make it a 2019 Top 10 contender.
-
All Music
Social Cues is a canny blend of familiar elements whose origin lies just out of reach.
-
The Young Folks
Social Cues shows why Cage the Elephant has stayed in the game for so long.
-
Daily Nebraskan
“Social Cues” makes it seem like the band has a lot more creating left to do.
-
Music Connection
A mature perspective on the ups and downs of their rock & roll fame.
-
KTSW 89.9
Overall, this album is a step up from Tell Me I’m Pretty, but doesn’t reach the potential CTE has.
-
American Songwriter
Social Cues shows the group maturing musically without losing its grip on their ability to craft haunting, accessible tunes ready for the larger venues they have rightfully graduated to.
-
ABC News
After taking a detour into fuzzy guitars, tambourines and a '60s vibe with 2015's "Tell Me I'm Pretty," the Kentucky alternative rockers have put out arguably their best collection of songs with "Social Cues."
-
Pancakes and Whiskey
It’s a bumpy ride to catharsis throughout Social Cues, and while we don’t necessarily escape the darkness, it feels good to have him driving.
-
Stereoboard
We are offered an attempt to retain their place as one of the biggest alt-rock bands in the game, and it shows.
-
DIY Magazine
Think Imagine Dragons in leather jackets and ripped jeans, if you will.
-
Cryptic Rock
Little lyrical hints connect each track to the next, which adds a nice touch to its cohesiveness nature, and making Social Cues another triumph for the band.
-
TNH Digital
“Social Cues” works outside-in at the root cause, feelings and pain of losing someone despite endless attempts at solving the relationship.
-
Popdust
Something heavy, something painful, is left behind on Social Cues.
-
The Student Playlist
‘Social Cues’ represents a significant revival of artistic fortunes for Matt Shultz and Cage The Elephant.
-
Riff Magazine
Social Cues keeps things interesting with a lot of attention drawn to Schultz’s voice and story.
-
Her Campus
Overall, this album effectively blends and explores old and new genres while meditating on heartbreak, reconciliation, and emotional transformations.
-
Armchair Rockstar
Cage the Elephant has certainly found their sound with their most recent album, Social Cues.
-
Highlight Magazine
Their unique sound stems from a career-long struggle against labels and genres.
-
Daily Emerald
By utilizing a collaborative talent between its instrumentals and Shultz’s raspy, yet captivating voice, CTE delivered an album jam packed with emotion and talent yet again.
-
Dork
Business as usual in terms of quality, while showing off some new tricks.
-
God is in the TV
Despite the shambolic chaos that the album connotes, I can happily applaud Matt for the musical genius that he is.
-
The Fire Note
The result is a solid pop/rock album that recalls the golden age of early alternative rock, while opening a new creative door for Cage the Elephant.
-
The National Student
Cage the Elephant’s fifth album, Social Cues holds nothing back for etiquette's sake.
-
Diandra Reviews it All
I love Social Cues. It is my “rock-out” album of April, and contains tracks that feel invitingly raw and raucous.
-
earbuddy
Social Cues is Cage The Elephant at their most tired; phoning it in every step of the way.
-
Amino
Social Cues is a good album that I will probably return to every now and then, it’s just not an absolutely phenomenal release even if it gets close sometimes.
-
The Post
Social Cues is a solid album with Cage The Elephant’s recognizable stamp on it, but the band has not been able to fill the shoes of its first three records.
-
The Sound Board
Social Cues already does that extremely well, and it actually makes reaching a point of true greatness once again seem more in focus than it has been in years. It mightn’t be quite excellent, but that net positive is enough of a reason to call Social Cues a win.
-
counteract
It’s clear from this that Cage the Elephant are self-inspired in so many ways, their musicianship never ceases to develop yet stay humble and always captures the right emotions for both themselves and their audience.
-
National Post
His heart may be broken but thanks to this new album, you’ll fall in love all over again with this band.
-
RWRant
I was really surprised with the new direction that Cage has taken on this album, but I think this album will do well.
-
Radio Western
Overall, I think Social Cues is a great album with upbeat songs with heartbreaking lyrics.
-
Ultimate Guitar
Cage The Elephant do little to really distinguish themselves from their peers on this album, and even despite a heavier emphasis on the pop element in their music, is only a minor evolution in the grand scheme of their sound.
-
The B-Side
This album is an absolute must-listen for everybody.
-
The Courier Online
Social Cues is a fascinating and reflective album which flows seamlessly from one track to the next, each song representing a story or emotion in a tale of a broken marriage.
-
Pure Grain Audio
This isn’t a raucous “belt-it-out” Cage The Elephant record, it’s the kind of album that deserves many critical listens and appreciation for not only the tender lyrical elements but the musicality chosen to match them.
-
Setlist
Social Cues is heavy, emotionally intense and perhaps the band's best work to date.
-
Aesthetic Magazine
Social Cues is a deeply layered and genuine sounding album.
-
Wickedd childd
On their fifth offering, Cage The Elephant are able to revive their sound by dissecting the better parts of their previous album Tell Me I’m Pretty, and elements of Melophobia, in a way that’s fresh and more poised than ever before.
-
Dead Press
It’s a fun and bristling record, and one that continues to see Cage The Elephant only continues to climb upwards in quality.
-
The Arbiter
Overall, Cage the Elephant have improved from their last album “Tell Me I’m Pretty” (TMIP)
-
Lippy
It seems that Cage The Elephant just aren’t as exciting as they used to be, and whether this is just a minor hiccup in their musical journey or the beginning of the end is yet to be known for certain.
-
Rocck Cellar
Born out of some intense emotions, Cage the Elephant’s ‘Social Cues’ might be their most cohesive album to date.
-
Cherwell
Social Cues is brooding, surprising, and possesses every ingredient of a solid alt-rock album.
-
Chicago Sun
Rather than repeat the same formula, the band has pushed their sonic boundaries further and created their most personal record to date.
-
Regardless of how you listen to it, this is one of the albums that is keeping the music scene leaning forward in 2019, and everyone should check it out.
-
Sacred Exile
Social Cues has some very impressive high moments in the aforementioned songs, but it doesn’t stop there.
-
The Sound Review
This radio-friendly collection rounds out their discography and will provide a new backing as they embark on their co-headlining tour with Beck this summer.
-
Cannapages
It may not be the group’s best album, but on Social Cues, we undoubtedly know why this caged elephant sings.
-
Vaughn Prunster
Overall, I had high hopes for “Social Cues” and unfortunately, I wasn’t grooving to it as much as I do with other content from Cage The Elephant.
-
GIGsoup
Social Cues, the fifth album of the band, starts from an established sound and fills it up with the rhythm of lyrics, navigating change with character.
-
The Student Printz
“Social Cues” reflects band’s signature style.
-
Exeposé
Social Cues functions as a cohesive album, one that introspectively tackles fame and heartbreak.
-
The Stylus
It was quite emotional and an interesting change of pace for Cage the Elephant.
-
FHHS Today
With a total of 13 songs this album covers much ground of styles and tempos. While some songs stick to the bands original alternative rock sound there are a few new sounds throughout this album.
-
MTSU Sidelines
“Social Cues” takes a turn to personal reflection distilled in abundance of uncertainty, hope and grief while cultivating an abstract correlation in their stylistic nature.
-
The Bobcat Prowl
The album covers serious topics that are extremely prevalent in today’s world and more specifically in American pop culture.
-
Farmers' Harvest
While it’s not perfect, “Social Cues” replenishes the indie rock scene with another strange and emotional album.
-
Veracious Magazine
Social Cues is an album that carries a tone of being broken, but hopeful and able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
-
The Niles West News
Almost all the songs from Social Cues have this unnerving effect. It certainly adds some value to the album, which is otherwise valueless.
-
RHS Today
I found “Social Cues” a disappointing, likely to be forgotten chapter in Cage the Elephant’s otherwise impressive discography.
-
agccrump
The music is good. It’s just sort of…there, I guess.
-
Loudsound Magazine
Overall, Social Cues is a monumental testament to what an open and exploratory mind can achieve when it is not afraid to search within.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments