Social Cues

Last updated

Social Cues
Cage the Elephant Social Cues.jpg
Studio album by
Cage the Elephant
ReleasedApril 19, 2019
Recorded2018
Studio
Genre
Length44:35
Label RCA
Producer John Hill [1]
Cage the Elephant chronology
Unpeeled
(2017)		Social Cues
(2019)		 Neon Pill
(2024)
Singles from Social Cues
  1. "Ready to Let Go"
    Released: January 31, 2019
  2. "Social Cues"
    Released: July 6, 2019
  3. "Black Madonna"
    Released: January 14, 2020
  4. "Skin and Bones"
    Released: October 13, 2020

Social Cues is the fifth studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Announced on January 31, 2019, the album was released on April 19, 2019. [3] Social Cues won the award for Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, making it the band's second album to win the award after Tell Me I'm Pretty .

Contents

Background

On November 26, 2018, the band announced on Twitter that their new album was "Done. Mixed. Mastered." [4] On January 31, 2019, the band officially released "Ready to Let Go", the first single from Social Cues. [1] On March 8, 2019, "House of Glass", the second advance track from the album was released. A collaboration with Beck, "Night Running" was released on March 28, 2019. The final song released in advance of the album was "Goodbye", released on April 8, 2019. Many of the songs (Such as "Goodbye", "Ready to Let Go", and "Love's the Only Way") were based on the divorce that Matt Shultz went through with his ex-wife, Juliette Buchs. In an interview Shultz stated “A lot of the songs came from trying to process heartbreak and personal change,” he said, adding that writing the album became a way to “hide real stories inside fictional narratives.”

In another interview guitarist Brad Shultz described the album stating “We wanted to explore darker textures and cinematic elements,” calling Social Cues “a natural evolution” that still retained the band’s core energy.” “We always wanted this record to be cinematic,” “Like, dark cinema. Horror scores. John Carpenter.” [5]

Music

Producer John Hill pushed the band toward cleaner, more atmospheric production, contrasting the raw, vintage sound of Tell Me I’m Pretty . Also pushing for them to step out of their comfort zone and build a world around each song. The sessions featured, analog synthesizers, ambient effects, along with live band takes and studio experimentation. This once again led to the band having a completely different sound from their previous album. [6] [7]

The band also brought in David Campbell, a well-known composer and arranger to contribute to Social Cues, Campbell who happens to the be the father of the musician Beck’s. That family connection eventually led to Beck himself stepping in and helping the group complete “Night Running”, a track they had been struggling to finish. [6]

Thematically, the record oscillates between bleak introspection and sonic vibrancy, a contrast often underscored by Shultz's lyrical ambiguity and vocal delivery. Tracks such as "Broken Boy" and "What I'm Becoming" delve into existential confusion, while others, like "Night Running", embrace a funk-driven surrealism that masks darker undertones. In interviews, Shultz emphasized the importance of engaging with the full emotional spectrum, resisting the pull of melodrama to instead "acknowledge all angles of emotion."—from frustration and anger, as in "Tokyo Smoke", to the quiet resignation and fragile hope of "Goodbye". [8] [9]

Commercial performance

The singles “Ready to Let Go” “Social Cues” and “Skin and Bones” all topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. [10]

The album it self peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, number 2 on the Top Rock Albums and number 3 on the Top Alternative Albums. [11] On top of this it made the charts in 11 different countries.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.7/10 [12]
Metacritic 75/100 [13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Consequence of Sound B− [15]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
The Line of Best Fit 4.5/10 [18]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The New York Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [19]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]
Under the Radar Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [22]

Social Cues received generally positive reviews upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating of reviews from mainstream publications, it received a 75 out of 100 - indicating "generally favorable reviews". [13] Social Cues has an average rating of 6.7 on AnyDecentMusic?. [12] David Fricke writing for Rolling Stone gave the album a 4/5 stating “One of most promising rock bands, Cage the Elephant's singer Matt Shultz's life fell apart — and they made their best album yet.” [23] Matt writing for Under The Radar gave the album a positive review calling it a “power-packed collection of raucous rhythms, bouncy beats, and rough riffs delivered with an emotional intensity akin to Cherry Glazerr, Wolf Alice, and The Kills.” “Social Cues has plenty of spectacular music to make it a 2019 Top 10 contender.” [24] Stephen Thomas writing for AllMusic wrote “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. [25]

Social Cues won Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020. [26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matt Shultz, Matthan Minster & Nick Bockrath, except where noted.

Social Cues track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Broken Boy"B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, John Hill 2:43
2."Social Cues"B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, Hill3:39
3."Black Madonna" 3:47
4."Night Running" (with Beck)B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, Beck Hansen, Natalie Belle Bergman3:28
5."Skin and Bones" 3:16
6."Ready to Let Go" 3:08
7."House of Glass" 2:35
8."Love's the Only Way" 4:01
9."The War Is Over" 3:16
10."Dance Dance"B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, Hill3:10
11."What I'm Becoming" 3:50
12."Tokyo Smoke" 3:26
13."Goodbye" 4:16
Total length:44:35

Personnel

Cage the Elephant

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Social Cues
Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australia Albums (ARIA) [27] 77
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [28] 47
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [29] 72
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [30] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [31] 59
French Albums (SNEP) [32] 146
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) [33] 36
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [34] 31
Scottish Albums (OCC) [35] 22
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [36] 38
UK Albums (OCC) [37] 79
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [38] 2
US Billboard 200 [39] 21
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums ( Billboard ) [40] 2


References

  1. 1 2 3 Childers, Chad (January 31, 2019). "Cage the Elephant Announce Social Cues Album, Release "Ready to Let Go" Video". Loudwire. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Trendell, Andrew (April 18, 2019). "Cage The Elephant – 'Social Cues' review". New Musical Express. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Cage The Elephant Announced 'Social Cues' With 'Ready To Let Go'". Uproxx. January 31, 2019.
  4. ↑ Cage the Elephant (November 26, 2018). "Record done. Mixed. Mastered" – via Twitter.
  5. ↑ Meredith, Kyle (April 2, 2019). "Cage the Elephant: "They wanted to paint us as these dumb party kids"". Louisville Public Media. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Daly, Rhian (February 7, 2019). "Cage The Elephant's Matt Shultz tells us all about working with Beck and new album 'Social Cues'". NME. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Cage The Elephant Don't Want To Be Tied Down By Rock And Roll". UPROXX. April 12, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  8. ↑ Breeze, Audrey Nakagawa | The (April 22, 2019). "'Social Cues' embodies lead singer Matt Shultz's traumatic year". The Breeze. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  9. ↑ Shapiro, Ari (April 26, 2019). "Cage The Elephant Processes Grief With 'Social Cues'". NPR. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Cage the Elephant | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Cage the Elephant | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Social Cues by Cage The Elephant reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Social Cues by Cage The Elephant Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  14. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review of Social Cues at AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  15. ↑ Sharples, Grant (April 19, 2019). "Cage the Elephant Stay in Their Comfort Zone on Social Cues". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Cage The Elephant - Social Cues". DIY . April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  17. ↑ O’Connor, Roisin (April 18, 2019). "Album reviews: Lizzo – Cuz I Love You, Fat White Family – Serfs Up! and Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Independent.co.uk . Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  18. ↑ Lynch, Ben. "Cage the Elephant's Social Cues is a mish-mash of ideas and missed opportunities". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  19. ↑ Pareles, Jon (April 17, 2019). "Cage the Elephant Returns, Suspended Between Rowdiness and Regret". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  20. ↑ Fricke, David (April 17, 2019). "Review: Cage the Elephant Battle Rock Star Fatigue on 'Social Cues'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  21. ↑ Ryan, Aidan (April 17, 2019). "Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". The Skinny. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  22. ↑ Raven, Matthew (April 17, 2019). "Cage The Elephant: Social Cues (RCA) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  23. ↑ Fricke, David (April 17, 2019). "Review: Cage the Elephant Battle Rock Star Fatigue on 'Social Cues'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  24. ↑ Raven, Matt the. "Social Cues". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  25. ↑ Social Cues - Cage the Elephant | Album | AllMusic , retrieved September 25, 2025
  26. ↑ "Cage The Elephant | Artist | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  27. ↑ "ARIA Report: Issue 1521" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 1, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. April 26, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  38. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  39. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  40. ↑ "Cage the Elephant Chart History: Top Rock & Alternative Albums". Billboard . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
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