| Tell Me I'm Pretty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 18, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | Spring 2015 | |||
| Studio | Easy Eye Sound,Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:11 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | Dan Auerbach | |||
| Cage the Elephant chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Tell Me I'm Pretty | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[8] |
| The Guardian |   [3] |
| AllMusic |  [9] |
| Consequence of Sound | B−[10] |
| The Observer | [11] |
| The A.V. Club | B[12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[2] |
Tell Me I'm Pretty is the fourth studio album by Americanrock bandCage the Elephant. It was released on December 18, 2015, and was announced online on October 5, 2015. The album was recorded in the spring of 2015 at Easy Eye Sound inNashville, Tennessee.[14] VocalistMatt Shultz stated: "With this record, we wanted to be more transparent. We wanted to capture the sentiment of each song, and whatever emotional response it provoked, to be really honest to that."
On October 29, 2015, the band released the first single from the album, "Mess Around", accompanied by a music video which was created using footage from the 1902 filmA Trip to the Moon and other films byGeorges Méliès.[15] Two other songs, "Trouble" and "Too Late to Say Goodbye", were made available for download before the album's release. The second single "Trouble" was sent to alternative radio on April 26, 2016.[16] The album won the award forBest Rock Album at the59th Grammy Awards.
Cage the Elephant recruitedDan Auerbach ofThe Black Keys to produceTell Me I'm Pretty, with Matt describing him as "reactive" and keeping the band second-guessing themselves, urging scratch vocals and emphasizing first takes.[17]
The first single, "Mess Around", was initially criticized by some for sounding too similar to material by the Black Keys; however, after the song "Trouble" was released as a preview in November, vocalist Matt Shultz told Alternative Nation, "...the songs have so much diversity in them that I don’t feel like any song is representative of the entire album, kind of like each sound has its own personality." Matt also said that the band found inspiration inDavid Bowie for his eclectic and ever-changing style.[17]
Tell Me I'm Pretty received generally favorable reviews from music critics. According to review aggregatorMetacritic, the album has an average critic review score of 73/100, based on 16 reviews.[18] Writing forExclaim!, Daniel Sylvester said that frontman Matthew Shultz "has hit the mark lyrically and vocally here, inviting listeners into the emotionally charged and honest world that Cage the Elephant inhabit."[8]
Tell Me I'm Pretty wonBest Rock Album at the59th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12, 2017.[1]
All tracks are written by Cage the Elephant
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cry Baby" | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Mess Around" | 2:53 |
| 3. | "Sweetie Little Jean" | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Too Late to Say Goodbye" | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Cold Cold Cold" | 3:34 |
| 6. | "Trouble" | 3:45 |
| 7. | "How Are You True" | 4:40 |
| 8. | "That's Right" | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Punchin' Bag" | 3:47 |
| 10. | "Portuguese Knife Fight" | 3:37 |
| Total length: | 38:11 | |
Personnel adapted from album liner notes.[19]
Weekly charts[edit]
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| Singles | |
| Related articles | |
