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Melophobia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melophobia
Studio album by
Cage the Elephant
ReleasedOctober 8, 2013
Recorded2012–2013
StudiosSt. Charles, Nashville, Tennessee
Genres
Length37:23
LabelsRCA (US)
Universal (Canada)
Virgin EMI (UK)
ProducerJay Joyce
Cage the Elephant chronology
Thank You, Happy Birthday
(2011)		 Melophobia
(2013)		 Tell Me I'm Pretty
(2015)
Singles from Melophobia
  1. "Come a Little Closer"
    Released: August 13, 2013
  2. "Take It or Leave It"
    Released: March 24, 2014
  3. "Cigarette Daydreams"
    Released: August 26, 2014

Melophobia is the third studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Recorded at St. Charles in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by Jay Joyce, the album was released on October 8, 2013, through RCA Records. It is the last album that features lead guitarist Lincoln Parish.

The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 10, 2022.

Background

[edit]

For Melophobia, Cage the Elephant attempted to distance themselves from comparisons to the sounds that influenced them, shutting themselves off from as much recorded music as possible.[1] Melophobia means "fear of music;" the band did not view the term literally, but rather thought of the term as "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."[2][3]

Frontman Matthew Shultz viewed the record as a battle "to remain transparent and to remain honest." Isaac Brock (frontman of Modest Mouse) once told his friend Tiger Merritt (of Morning Teleportation) that "if you're not slightly embarrassed to sing the lyrics, you're probably not writing a good song," and encouraged him to refrain from attempting to write poetically but rather naturally. Shultz said this made sense to him.[1][3] When writing new tracks, Shultz would often doodle an image alongside his lyrics for visual reference.[3]

During the winter when writing Melophobia, the band was moving between their home state of Kentucky and Nashville. They also spent time in a cabin in Portland, Tennessee where they worked on the songs.[4]

Album cover

[edit]

The album cover was designed by artist R. Clint Colburn. During the process of making the artwork, Colburn sculpted a series of surreal, slightly grotesque miniature characters (plasticine / modeled figures), photographed them and placed them on a bold monochrome striped background that is seen in the final result. The visual treatment (clay figures + stark stripes) was selected from a set of characters Colburn produced; the band and art director chose the final figure and photographic arrangement. Several "making of" / behind-the-scenes clips show Colburn molding and photographing the figures for the sleeve.[5]

Composition

[edit]

"Come a Little Closer" was inspired by a morning on which Shultz woke up in a São Paulo hotel and opened his window to watch the sunrise over the favelas. Finding the makeshift housing comparable to an anthill, he soon found himself wondering what each soul inside each borough felt, whether it be heartache, love, loss or joy.[3] Shultz viewed "Telescope" as the breakthrough song in writing honestly; he based it on his loneliness. During a bout of seasonal depression, he spent time in his new home for the first time after nonstop touring and found himself "doing life's meaningless tasks to fill the void to pass the time", including obsessively decorating and feeling obligated to spend time in each room.[1]

"Black Widow" features the usage of brass horns which Brad had been anxious to use for a while; however, Matt was against the inclusion of such instrumentation, which eventually led to a "big argument".[6]

Many riffs started raw; Brad and Matt would keep them if the feeling was there rather than polishing them to perfection. Many songs were are built around tension between quiet and loud, space and saturation. They emphasized letting songs breathe. They used horns, odd chord voicings, off-beat rhythms, and unusual tunings to add color and avoid songs sounding too similar.[7]

Melophobia saw the band move beyond their usual garage rock and funky blues rock sound. They incorporated numerous sounds and instruments, which resulted in a more dark and mellow sound along with elements of psychedelic rock while still keeping some of the blues style seen in their first two albums. With a strong vocal performance by Shultz, it all came together to completely reinvent the band's sound.[8][9]

Release and promotion

[edit]

The album's lead single "Come a Little Closer" was teased via their YouTube channel on August 1, 2013, and premiered in full on August 8, 2013. It was released on iTunes for purchase on August 13. The song topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, peaked at number 7 on the Mainstream Rock chart and broke into the Canadian Hot 100 at number 72.[10] The song's official music video was released on November 13 of that year.[11]

“Take it or Leave It" was then released, and appeared at number 7 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[10] A music video for the song was later released on April 30. 2014.[12] "Cigarette Day Dreams" was the final single and was released on August 26, 2013. It also topped the Alternative Songs chart.[10] Its music video was released on September 4, 2014, featuring lead singer Matt Shultz's ex-wife.[13]

On September 20, 2013, Cage the Elephant performed multiple songs from the album on the Los Angeles radio station 106.7 KROQ.[14]

The full album was officially released on October 8, 2013.[15]

Commercial performance

[edit]

The album debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its first week of release,[16] with around 18,000 copies sold in the United States. It also debuted at No. 6 on both the Top Rock Albums[17] and the Alternative Albums charts.[18] Internationally the album peaked at number 4 in the US.[clarification needed] The album was officially certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 10, 2022, for selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States. The album also received platinum certification in New Zealand and gold certification in Brazil.

Touring

[edit]

Following the release of the album, in January 2014 Cage the Elephant announced an extensive tour in support of the album. The tour started on February 3, 2014 in London and ended on May 20 in Oakland, California. The tour saw them make stops in Europe in the UK, France, Belgium, Ireland and Denmark. The second leg of the tour took place in South America with shows in Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The final leg of the tour strictly took place in the United States. Tthey made multiple festival appearances at the Coachella Music Festival, Lollapalooza Brazil, Chile and Argentina.[19][20]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[22]
Alternative PressStarStarStarHalf star[23]
Consequence of SoundC+[24]
Los Angeles TimesStarStarStar[25]
Paste8.0/10[26]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarHalf star[27]
USA TodayStarStarStarHalf star[28]
The MusicStarStarStarStar[29]
Ox-FanzineStarStarStarStarHalf star[30]
Ultimate Guitar7.7/10[31]

Melophobia has received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Brian Mansfield of USA Today designated it "Album of the Week," summarizing that "Melophobia may mean 'fear of music,' but there's nothing to be afraid of: Its glorious chaos makes for thrilling listening."[28] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times viewed Melophobia as "a bit more stoned and mellow" than its predecessor, "they're in a class of their own [...] Let's just be glad to have such imagination on our drive time rock radio again."[25]

Holly Gleason of Paste described the album as "post-modern glam revival," praising Jay Joyce's production and opining that "Melophobia is united in both the urgency of the performances and the seemingly toxic love affairs that populate these songs."[26] Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan considered the record a combination of "Sixties garage rock, Seventies punk and Eighties alt-rock into excellently weird new shapes."[27] Doug McCausland of Alternative Nation said Melophobia was Cage's strongest record at the time.[32]

Ox-Fanzine praised the album's change in sound compared to their previous releases, stating, "Melophobia is by no means boring. It is the magnificent evolution of a band that has realized how to move forward."[30] A reviewer from Ultimate Guitar added, "The band has some kind of knack at creating a certain mood with their music that I can't quite define, but makes me feel more carefree than before I listened to the album."[33]

Alternative Press's Jason Schreurs wrote that Melophobia "is, at its best, ambitious and teeming with ideas and, at worst, one heck of a mish-mash of sounds."[23]

The album was the band’s first to be nominated for a Grammy in Best Alternative Music Album category at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.[34]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Cage the Elephant.

No.TitleLength
1."Spiderhead"3:42
2."Come a Little Closer"3:49
3."Telescope"3:48
4."It's Just Forever" (featuring Alison Mosshart)3:30
5."Take It or Leave It"3:27
6."Halo"2:57
7."Black Widow"3:07
8."Hypocrite"4:08
9."Teeth"5:27
10."Cigarette Daydreams"3:28
Total length:37:23

B-sides

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Baby Blue"3:41
2."Jesse James"2:53

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Hitseekers)[35] 4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[36]21
US Billboard 200[37]15
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[38]6
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[39]3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[40]6
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[41]5
UK Albums (Official Charts)[42]117

Certifications

[edit]
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[43] Gold 20,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[44] Platinum 15,000‡
United States (RIAA)[45] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 Gentile, John (October 7, 2013). "Cage the Elephant's Matt Shultz on Melophobia and Loneliness". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Montgomery, James (October 8, 2013). "Cage The Elephant Get Fearless On Melophobia". MTV News. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rutledge, Chris (October 7, 2013). "Cage The Elephant Talk Melophobia, "Come A Little Closer," Songwriting". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ Rutledge, Chris (October 7, 2013). "Cage The Elephant Talk Melophobia, "Come A Little Closer," Songwriting". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ Creative Bloq Staff (October 28, 2013). "Album artwork of the week: Cage the Elephant's Melophobia". Creative Bloq. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ Bosso, Joe (September 25, 2013). "Cage The Elephant's Matt & Brad Shultz talk Melophobia track-by-track". p. 8. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ Joe Bosso (September 25, 2013). "Cage The Elephant's Matt & Brad Shultz talk Melophobia track-by-track". MusicRadar. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  8. ↑ Dolan, Jon (October 8, 2013). "Melophobia". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  9. ↑ Rutledge, Chris (October 7, 2013). "Cage The Elephant Talk Melophobia, "Come A Little Closer," Songwriting". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 "Cage the Elephant | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  11. ↑ Blistein, Jon (November 12, 2013). "Cage the Elephant, 'Come A Little Closer'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Take It Or Leave It, here's the new Cage The Elephant video | Right Arm Resource". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  13. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (September 4, 2014). "Watch: Cage The Elephant's video for "Cigarette Daydreams"". Consequence. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Unveil New Tracks at L.A. Radio Performance". Loudwire. September 23, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  15. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (August 13, 2013). "Cage the Elephant share Melophobia release date, artwork, tracklist". Consequence. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. October 26, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. October 26, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Alternative Albums". Billboard. October 26, 2013.
  19. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (January 21, 2014). "Cage The Elephant announce 2014 North American tour". Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  20. ↑ Childers, Chad ChildersChad (January 22, 2014). "Cage the Elephant Announce 2014 North American Tour Dates". Loudwire. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Melophobia by Cage the Elephant". Metacritic. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  22. ↑ Jeffries, David. "Melophobia – Cage the Elephant". AllMusic. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  23. 1 2 Schreurs, Jason (October 8, 2013). "Cage the Elephant - Melophobia". Alternative Press. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  24. ↑ Geffen, Sasha (October 10, 2013). "Album Review: Cage The Elephant - Melophobia". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  25. 1 2 Brown, August (October 7, 2013). "Album review: Cage the Elephant's Melophobia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  26. 1 2 Gleason, Holly (October 8, 2013). "Cage the Elephant: Melophobia". Paste. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  27. 1 2 Dolan, Jon (October 8, 2013). "Cage the Elephant - Melophobia". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  28. 1 2 Mansfield, Brian (October 8, 2013). "Album of the week: Cage the Elephant's Melophobia". USA Today. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Album Review: Cage The Elephant - 'Melophobia'". The Music.
  30. 1 2 "Review: CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Melophobia". ox-fanzine.de (in German). Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Cage the Elephant: Melophobia Review". ultimate-guitar.com.
  32. ↑ McCausland, Doug (October 1, 2013). "Cage the Elephant - Melophobia Review". AlternativeNation. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Cage the Elephant: Melophobia Review". ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Cage The Elephant | Artist | GRAMMY.com". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  35. ↑ "ARIA Report: Issue 1239" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  37. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  38. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  39. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  40. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  41. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
  42. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 26/4/2019 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  43. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Cage the Elephant – Melophobia" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  44. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Cage the Elephant – Melophobia". Radioscope. Retrieved January 30, 2026. Type Melophobia in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  45. ↑ "American album certifications – Cage the Elephant – Melophobia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
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