Social Cues

Cage the Elephant - Social Cues
Critic Score
Based on 28 reviews
2019 Ratings: #625 / 805
User Score
2019 Rank: #649
Liked by 99 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
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.

80
musicOMH

Social Cues is Cage The Elephant’s darkest and most personal album yet.

80
The Young Folks
Here, the guys venture beyond traditional garage and psych rock to experiment with different alternative styles—often with exciting results.
80
NME

Having spent their glittering career dancing through different sounds, Cage The Elephant truly find themselves on this mature, widescreen fifth album.

80
The Independent

Social Cues is an album where Shultz bares his soul, and apparently shakes off a few demons in the process.

80
Under the Radar

Cage The Elephant have proven to be one of the most reliable and entertaining rock bands around and Social Cues has plenty of spectacular music to make it a 2019 Top 10 contender.

73
GIGsoup

The overall sensation is a unity of differences, a cohesive work in terms of style. This smooth result does not enchant but neither misses the point, allowing variety and musical contamination in the alternative realm.

70
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. I don’t think Shultz is actually aware of what he writes, but he knows how to make it emotionally relatable. And that’s what keeps people listening.

70
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.

70
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.

70
AllMusic

CTE wind up dampening the squalls of White Stripes, Strokes, and Pixies that defined their first decade of records, but that change also emphasizes how the group are at heart pop-pastiche artists, favoring style and sound over a finely honed song.

70
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.

67
Consequence of Sound

Cage the Elephant have offered a batch of all too generic radio-friendly singles. It would have been fascinating to see the band take a drastic turn and lean into experimentation, but instead they’ve returned with a relatively underwhelming fifth album.

67
Paste

If Social Cues isn’t a bad album by any stretch; it’s nonetheless, in the band’s discography, surprisingly generic.

60
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 set to the same kick drum Jared Champion’s been hitting for more than ten years.

60
No Ripcord

Though Cues features some of their most accomplished songs yet, their eagerness to please both sides make for a sometimes coldly calculating listen.

60
Dork
While not breaking remarkable new ground, Cage the Elephant are nonetheless more adept than most at shapeshifting through the confines of a modern guitar band. This latest take is business as usual in terms of quality while showing off some new tricks.
60
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. A few of these songs will probably get some radio play and I’ll be happier for it. Even if it’s “Night Running.”

50
The Needle Drop

The songwriting on Social Cues is far too tame to live up to the album's dark backstory.

45
The Line of Best Fit

The underlying grit and melodies that, while not always appeasing the critics, certainly won Cage The Elephant an array of fans are largely absent, replaced by a series of flat and often unforgettable tracks.

40
DIY

‘Social Cues’ is a study in US radio - or so it seems, each song a suitable soundtrack to faceless car journeys along nondescript roads: think Imagine Dragons in leather jackets and ripped jeans, if you will.

40
The Sydney Morning Herald

Social Cues ends up a pick-and-mix grab-bag of modern pop sounds with little nutritional value.

BGL13
81

social cues is a polarizing album when it comes to the reception from the general public and hardcore cage the elephant fans alike. i personally love this album but many people find it to be boring or obnoxious. this is a lot different than previous cage the elephant albums. it’s not as wild as their first two albums but not as polished as their later albums. the lyrics mostly focus on matt’ s divorce that happened shortly before the album’s release. the album starts off with ... read more

BradTasteMusic
37

This is so boring oh my god. This is barely passable as background noise.

SnowyFighter
76

Don’t look at me like that -_-

Social Cues is an album I find to be a little bit underrated. Yeah there are duds, and yea it’s a bit inconsistent, but as their latest record I kinda like it. The title track is probably one of their best and catchiest songs. Broken Boy is almost a post punk song and it slaps. Ready to Let Go is also pretty catchy. Goodbye is beautiful. The only song I’d say is the closest to bad is Night Running but other than that the rest is passable. So ... read more

ardensgarden
60

i really do like the eerie vibe on this album. some really great songs on here, my personal favs are black madonna and night running, but those are offset by half of the album being really forgettable.

fordneedstorest
76

ok yes it doesn’t go anywhere but i reallyyyyyyy like this sound. also only listening cuz i got recommended this band but happy im here!

msnanah
80

A primeira vez que escutei esse álbum achei que ele era bom, a parir da segunda eu viciei.
As únicas músicas que achei mais "esquecíveis" são as: Black Madonna e What I'm Becoming.

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Track List

1Broken Boy
2:43
85
2Social Cues
3:39
90
3Black Madonna
3:46
86
4Night Running
3:28
with Beck
81
5Skin and Bones
3:16
82
6Ready to Let Go
3:07
83
7House of Glass
2:34
81
8Love's the Only Way
4:00
68
9The War Is Over
3:15
76
10Dance Dance
3:10
77
11What I'm Becoming
3:50
71
12Tokyo Smoke
3:25
84
13Goodbye
4:16
80
Total Length: 44 minutes

Year End Lists

#18/Gigwise
#28/The Independent
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Added on: January 31, 2019