“Melophobia” - The Fear of Music / Album Review

Cage the Elephant, of all places, was established in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2006. In 2008, they relocated their band to London and produced their first album, “Cage the Elephant” (Montgomery). They are well known for their funky vibes, breezy melodies, and occasional angsty rock. So well known that they were awarded a Grammy for Best Rock Album, in recognition of their album “Social Clues.”

Written during the month of October in 2013, it seems only fitting to review Cage the Elephant’s “Melophobia” album. While quite literally meaning “the fear of music” this album strays from the exact definition to encapsulate the emotions conjured up by music that may include fear, sadness and anxiety. During an MTV interview, Matthew Shultz, the band leader, stated that “It’s not necessarily a fear of music, it’s a fear of creating music to project premeditated images of self, like catering to cool, or making music to project an image of being intellectual or artistic or poetic, rather than just trying to be an honest communicator” (Montgomery). Cage the Elephant is writing music for the people. They want to influence their audience positively and be as authentic as possible. That being said, the main idea of “Melophobia” is to put your fears out there and communicate with each other. Overall, “Melophobia” does an amazing job of emotionally connecting with the listeners, even though everyone has their own subjective experiences; every experience is perceived differently, and there’s beauty in that. “Melophobia” is the only album that Cage the Elephant has produced that is consistent with its sound and “story.” They follow a mellower rock genre with clear, well balanced melodies whereas their “Cage the Elephant” album consists more of a punk-rock, aggressive, and punchy vibe. It really encapsulates angst whereas “Melophobia” comes off as melancholic. “Melophobia” includes a lot of catchy melodic guitar tunes, as well as bright piano chords. Touching on the lyrics, “Melophobia” has a common theme of internal battles and hardship. Throughout all ten songs, the story being portrayed is related to each and every song in the album (Rutledge). Cage the Elephant does have a tendency to stray from the main theme in their previous albums, and even have cliche lyrics. The growth of the story in “Melophobia” sets up for Cage the Elephant’s musical redemption.

Beginning with the song, “Come a Little Closer’’, we have the overall message of finding the deeper meaning of something through the lyrics “come a little closer can’t you see, come on, come on, come on. Things aren’t always what they seem to be.” The song possesses multiple layers of instrumentation, allowing for build up, but also creating a spacey ambiance. The song eventually explodes into the chorus, or the climax of the song, portraying realization. I’m almost certain everyone has experienced this sort of realization, almost like an intense awakening. The constant meddling back and forth of what really is, finally being answered and that uncertainty dissipating.

The next song that contributes to the significance of the album is “Telescope.” From a lyrical standpoint, “Telescope” is very interesting. It also happens to be one of the most consistent songs in regards to telling a story. To me, it’s describing depersonalization. The song is about someone who is watching themselves go through the motions of life, filling their days with pointless things and distractions. They feel trapped, like there’s no way out, “I don’t think you understand. There’s nowhere left to turn. Walls keep breaking.” This seems to be the most influential song in the album because being directionless can be a common feeling among society. As a collective group, we are caught up in the rat race: to achieve the highest level of education in order to make the most money, just to spend the rest of your life working. There’s no room for enjoying life itself. Personally, the transition from highschool to college, everything that ever was known, that has now changed, making the future seem uncertain, was a large factor in my lack of direction. This vulnerable emotion of uncertainty and fear makes “Cage the Elephant” as an artist so much more likeable because of this expressed rawness and realness. Lastly, the closing song of the album “Cigarette Daydreams”, although short, touches on a very vulnerable topic. It seems to be a stream of thought looking back at a failed relationship. The artist finds himself wishing the lover had found their way back to them.

A part of the artist always finds themself thinking about what could have been, their mind wandering back to the lost relationship (The Rambler).

The lyrics state “You can drive all night. Looking for answers in the pouring rain. You wanna find peace of mind. Looking for the answer” showing the endless pining over a lost lover and the unimaginable hope for them to come back. The mention of heartbreak and turmoil connects with listeners in all aspects of what their experience with relationships may be. It could relate to those who have had experience with passionate infatuation, an ending of a long-term relationship or a messy friendship. The end goal portrayed by this song is peace of mind, ultimately tying the whole album together. Cage the Elephant utilized their album “Melophobia’’ as a way to outline life’s difficulties and personal struggles. The lyrics are powerful in such a way that it connects the audience through one main theme but in such a diverse array of experiences and perspectives. They strayed from cliche heartbreak songs and turned to mental illness, depersonalization, and struggles of change to fuel their 2013 album. They also took a step back from their usual angsty rock chords and melodies, reserved it for future and past albums, and focused on surf-rock, lo-fi tunes for their “Melophobia” album which is justified due to the sensitive topics discussed in the produced ten tracks.

The main factors of whether or not a band is likable has to do with the content of their lyrics as well as their reliability through emotional connection. What purpose does a shallow, surface level song do? Maybe it’s convenient for light hearted listening, but not fulfilling when faced with challenging emotions. It can be argued that music can aid in personal growth due to the potential factor of processing emotion and experience. That being said, Melophobia can aid in helping listeners push past life’s greatest difficulties, keeping in mind that these challenges are diverse.

Album Review by Rebecca Schwendt

Art by Briee Truax