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Neon Pill
2024 studio album by Cage the Elephant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Neon Pill is the sixth studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. It was released on May 17, 2024, by RCA Records.[1] Neon Pill follows Social Cues (2019), which marks the longest gap between two Cage the Elephant studio albums. The title track was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.[2]
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The album's full track listing was announced by Cage the Elephant on social media on March 19, 2024.[3]
The album material was written over a long, eventful period — about five years after Social Cues. The bands unusually long period between albums was due to lead singer Matt Shultz experienced a severe mental health crisis triggered by an adverse reaction to prescribed ADHD medication, which led to paranoid delusions and a break from reality. Ultimately resulting in him being arrested for a firearm arm felony possession which resulted in him being able enter recovery after which he reunited with the band and they continued to work on the album.[4] Guitarist Brad Shultz stated "Every record has its journey and this was the longest amount of time it took us to make a record, but it was meant to be what it was," Also stating that recording process "had a lot of starts and stops but when we actually started making the record, it was maybe a month and we were done.”[5]
In a interview with IHeartRadio, Shultz explained why Neon Pill chosen for the name of the album “I definitely went through a really difficult time where I was prescribed a medication and unknowingly went into psychosis — it can happen, it's a terrible thing if it does — but I'm a living miracle right now, so that's probably the biggest reason why we chose that as the title track.”[5]
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Musical style and themes
Matt Shultz turbulent period deeply influenced Neon Pill. The album features lyrics reflecting Shultz's psychological descent and recovery, blending confessional songwriting with the band's evolving, genre-fluid sound. Songs like "Neon Pill" and "Rainbow" trace his personal trauma, including a temporary divorce from his wife Eva.[6] The songs “Out Loud” and “Over my Shoulder” are references to Matt and Brad Shultz father who died in 2020.[7]
Some tracks are more glam / swaggering rock (e.g. “Ball and Chain”). Others are more restrained or emotional soft ballads, piano-led and alt-rock textures.[7] In some cases it pulls together elements from across their past albums — not leaning heavily into one era or style, but blending them together.[8]
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Promotion
The album was preceded by the release of the title track as the lead single on January 19, 2024. The song was the band's first release in five years.[9] The second single, "Out Loud", was released on February 29, 2024, simultaneously with the album's announcement. The third and fourth singles, "Good Time" and "Metaverse", were released on April 5 and May 3 respectively.[10][11]
The songs “Neon Pill” “Out Loud” and Metaverse all topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[12]
Critical reception
Upon release, Neon Pill received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications, the album has an average score of 74 based on seven reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Stephen Thomas from AllMusic gave the album a positive review stating “The album may have been written during a dark night of the soul but it was recorded with precison and concentration ultimately obscuring the pain at the point of the origin.”[18]
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Track listing
All tracks are written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Nick Bockrath, Matthan Minster, Daniel Tichenor, and Jared Champion, except where noted.
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Personnel
Cage the Elephant
- Matt Shultz – vocals, guitar
- Brad Shultz – guitar
- Nick Bockrath – guitar, synthesizer
- Matthan Minster – drums, piano, synthesizer
- Daniel Tichenor – bass
- Jared Champion – drums
Additional contributors
- John Hill – production
- Randy Merrill – mastering
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Jeremy Ferguson – engineering
- John Mueller – engineering
- Jon Yeston – engineering
- Jonny Bell – engineering
- Chris Galland – engineering assistance
- Eli Epstein – engineering assistance
- Jeremie Inhaber – engineering assistance
- Josue San Martin – engineering assistance
- Kenny Harrington – engineering assistance
- Lauren Marquez – engineering assistance
- Mario Ramírez – engineering assistance
- Robin Florent – engineering assistance
- Skyler Chuckry – engineering assistance
- Rob Moose – strings on "Neon Pill", "Out Loud", and "Good Time"
- Katie Schecter – background vocals on "Neon Pill" and "Good Time"
- Nick Winegardner – background vocals on "Neon Pill" and "Good Time"
- Paige MacKinnon – background vocals on "Neon Pill" and "Good Time"
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Charts
References
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