The Songs: 

“Spiderhead”

After finishing the song, what stuck with me was how surprised I was when there was no bridge. I’m so used to songs having one, but Cage the Elephant  they switched it up and didn’t include one, and wisely so because they didn’t need one. I didn’t notice the absence of the bridge until the end because of how well the song flowed and kept consistency. It's a great, upbeat song that makes you want to get up and move. I’m already pulled into the sound of this album and hope they keep the summer vibe that's going on. 

“Come a Little Closer”

This song has a brilliant chorus and great-sounding verses. I love how they edit the lead singer's voice to sound like it's coming through a radio during the verses and then break out of it when the chorus comes. Then the bridge. The bridge. It was so good, and fits so well with the song. The composition and lyrics are well written and meaningful. It's easily my favorite part of the song and the part where his voice and the music slowly get louder gives me goosebumps. I already have a feeling that this will be my favorite song off the album. 

“Telescope”

This song keeps the album's vibe consistent, which is rare for a lot of albums. Cage The Elephant wrote yet another  catchy and melodic chorus. What I love about Cage The Elephant is how they can create an album with a certain feeling or vibe but not make every song sound the same to the point where it's repetitive. This song is a perfect example of that—I still get that summer energy from the song but it's still different from the previous track. Right now Cage The Elephant is on a streak because so far, I've loved the past three songs and they're already my favorites.

“It's Just Forever (feat. Alison Mosshart)"

The beginning of the song gives me huge old-school surfer vibes, with guitar riffs that sound like the Beach Boys. I like how they're switching it up with a song that is extremely different from the tracks I've heard so far, and the gravelly cracked voice from the lead singer works great with this particular melody. With a very cool chorus and radio voice-sounding verses, this song is definitely a good listen.

“Take It Or Leave It”

As much as I liked the uniqueness of the last song because of the difference in the lead singer's voice, I did miss the usual voice that he does, so I'm glad they went back to that. More good vibes from the album and another great chorus. This isn’t some show-stopping memorable song like some of the others, but it's still a fun and relaxing listen and reminds me of summer.

“Halo”

Another perfect summer vibes song with a great guitar riff. I love the part where he cracks his voice up for “I've said it before, and I'll say it again”, it sounds so cool and adds that extra “spice” to the song. I love the concept of the lyrics with how he “lost his halo”. Definitely a top 5 song on the album, I love everything about this song. 

“Black Widow”

Sadly, I'm not a huge fan of this song. I normally like the unique effects the lead singer puts on his voice in certain parts of their songs, but for some reason when he does it in this song, it doesn't sound as good and the song sounds off pitch and off beat. The background instruments and music just don’t fit with the singing in my opinion and possibly would have been better if they either changed the guitar riffs or the rhythm of the lyrics.

“Hypocrite”

This song’s quite a big change from the previous tracks and it has a much calmer tone. I’m glad they did that though because it's always good to switch it up sometime during your album so you're not continuously repeating the same similar rhythms and sounds. While I prefer their more upbeat songs most of the time, this one is very pretty in a way and still maintains the summer feeling.

“Teeth”

Another big change, this song swings into a more metal-ish sound. As per usual, I love the radio voice they did with the singer's voice, and the song is giving me late 90s/2000s rock vibes. The guitar riff is very similar to The Clash song “London Calling”, and I'm a huge Clash fan so that's probably why I’m enjoying the guitar in this song. 

In an interview lead singer Matt Shutz said, “My friend said that I should stop writing lyrics for the sake of poetry, and I should just write lyrics the way that I speak because that's what's poetic." I love that advice because songwriters should always try new things and see what happens when they break their writing pattern, since it may even be better than what they originally have been coming up with.

“Cigarette Daydreams”

This is the iconic song that introduced me to this band, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It's one of my favorite choruses of all time with the perfect lyrics, melody, and voice. Instead of writing a bridge with totally new lyrics, they simply slowed down the chorus and had the lead singer lower his voice which I think was a genius decision. The pretty guitar riff combined with the calm, yet upbeat, flowy lyrics makes this the perfect summer song that never fails to put me in a good mood.

My Thoughts On The Album:

As I said multiple times in my reviews of the songs, this album has the perfect summer vibes to it. Playing this album during car rides on the Cape is a total mood booster and has almost no skips. Almost every track is extremely catchy with great guitar riffs and vocal changes that create a unique sound for the band that separates it from others. I definitely recommend that you give the album a listen if you're a fan of summery-indie rock music!