Cage the Elephant, Indie rockers hailing from Kentucky, recently announced they'd release their fourth studio album, Tell Me I'm Pretty, in 2015 with the assistance of Dan Auerbach. The band has since reflected on their relationship with the album producer, Black Keys and The Arcs member, detailing the collaboration and idea of first-take vocals on their impending studio album.
Due out Dec. 18, Tell Me I'm Pretty will follow-up 2013's, Best Alternative Album Grammy-nominated Melophobia, which boasted popular tracks like "Cigarette Daydreams." Cage the Elephant guitarist Brad Schulz recalled the uncomfortable moment he chatted with Dan Auerbach about collaborating with his band, who happened to be opening a handful of gigs for the Black Keys during their supporting U.S. tour, Turn Blue.
"I was probably a little too drunk in the dressing room and I was like, 'Man, let me show you some songs, dude! We gotta do some tracks together!'" Brad Shultz told Rolling Stone. "Typical stuff - I was really wasted." There was a reason behind Shultz' zany behavior--the group was undergoing massive mayhem and a world of differences trailing "Come A Little Closer's" Melophobia. "You're stuck on a tour bus for five years together, and you need a break," Shultz said. "I had some fears of everything falling apart."
The friction between the "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" singers ultimately led to the retreat of lead guitarist Lincoln Parish and an ultimately awkward Melophobia supporting tour where the musicians spent less and less time face to face. Looking to a more harmonious future, Cage the Elephant found solace with Auerbach, who decided to produce their impending album in Nashville.
In an attempt to get Jared Champion, Daniel Tichenor, Brad and Matthew Shultz to flow in a musically diverse direction over the three week recording period, Auerbach would call the band into the control room after recording a take, play bits and pieces of garage-rock and Afrobeat songs and send the group back to record a fresh take on their own songs with fresh elements in mind.
"It was an experiment for him to knock us out of what was comfortable for us," vocalist Matthew Shultz explained to Rolling Stone. Auerbach even pushed the use of first-take vocals, which left Schultz conscious of his pitch.
According to Consequence of Sound, Outkast-inspired album track "Mess Around" has been released to the public off of the record Brad says "brought us back to being those kids in Bowling Green."
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