Cage the Elephant's forth studio album, Tell Me I'm Pretty, builds on the ground work of its 2013 predecessor Melophobia. It retains The inviting rock out ready vibe of songs like 'It's Just Forever' whilst dispensing with Melophobia's more abstract traits. There's no place for random bursts from the brass section as on 'Hypocrites'. Nor, thankfully is there space for a nonsensical wannabe rap / talk with annoying trumpets again thrown in, alla 'Teeth'.

Instead what we get is a sonically refined and lyrically pleasing LP.

The opening Salvo of 'Cry Baby' and 'Mess Around', instantly grabs the ear with humable melodies. This is further helped by the vocals of Matt Shultz , which even if you don't always make out still holds you in the moment.

The composition, at least is the kind of thing you wouldn't mind hearing whilst in a top down convertible, with some cool shades on to protect from the sun filled Californian Blue Sky above.

As for lyrics, Cage the Elephant discuss death depression and partying. Oh and let us not forget the themes that have fueled and perplexed musicians since time immemorial. Namely lusting after, loving and then ultimately losing the girl.

'Mess Around' does the lusting for the protagonists' feisty flame. Shultz sings:

"The heat is rising and only getting hotter, ready to blow
I think I'll pour myself a glass of water, let it flow
She'll show you what she's made of
Yeah she's comin' for ya
She's gonna try to break ya
Yeah she's comin' for ya...."

Though this is perhaps as much about an intense love of the locale then any single temptress.

Meanwhile, 'Too Late to Say Goodbye' continues the love and longing as our protagonist desperately attempts to cling onto a captivating if doomed love affair. The light tapping of drum 's symbol could almost be counting down to a slow but sure demise. Throw in some Eric Clapton style guitar whaling and you know this isn't going to end well.

The most interesting and darkest tail is in the form of the morbid 'Sweetie Little Jean'. A Guilt ridden storyteller tells of what appears to be a community rocked by a girl's tragic disappearance.

There's candlelit vigils,a Dad who's losing his grip and the curious question "hows it feel to be a ghost?"

Whats more intriguing is despite apparently being the girl he loved the most, this chap seems preoccupied with asking " how long will we let it go?" Before concluding that " I think we should just let it go".
There is some interesting questions to be posted here such as, is she dead or alive? Why is the singer so keen to move on so quickly? And perhaps most importantly from an artistic point of view, why did Shultz insist on raising his voice to a lyrics distorting higher pitch?

It's a pity, producer (Black Keys) Dan Auerbach didn't tell the musician to, just let the lyrics do the work, as the very fact you can't hear them inevitably takes away from the song.

Save for a few momentum killing miss steps, including 'How Are You True', Cage the Elephant make an enjoyable return.