Album Review: Unpeeled, Cage The Elephant

From the raw, twitching energy and bratty cockiness of their self-titled debut, to this rather classily staged live album, Cage The Elephant have evolved into a band who prioritise tasteful arrangements and rich production values. Thankfully, they still boast an effortless ’60s swagger and countercultural cool, qualities which dominate this record.

Testifying to the band’s skilful musicianship – or detracting from the experience, depending on your view of live albums – the engineering is so good, it’s possible to forget that this is a band playing in concert. Indeed, only the occasional cheer from the crowd reminds us this is a live gig at all.

At 21 tracks and 80 minutes, Unpeeled can be a slog, especially as the acoustic/strings format begets a certain blandness. At its best, the album provides fleeting moments of grace and beauty, notably with gems from 2015’s brilliant Tell Me I’m Pretty (‘Too Late to Say Goodbye’, ‘Cold Cold Cold’, ‘Trouble’), which sit alongside lesser pieces such as ‘No Rest for the Wicked’.

Saving the record from being a mere live greatest hits affair, there are a few covers, including Wreckless Eric’s new wave classic ‘Whole Wide World’, and a beguiling take on The Stranglers’ ‘Golden Brown’.

Unpeeled will make a fine – if not strictly necessary – purchase for Cage The Elephant fans. However, it is both too long and overly-slick to attract the floating punter.