• Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: May 17, 2024
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Jun 21, 2024
    80
    Brilliantly bright-side. [Summer 2024, p.75]
  2. May 22, 2024
    80
    “Watching his image ripple past/Just a drop, life moves fast,” Shultz sings over a somber acoustic guitar processional. It’s that sense of pain and perseverance that pushes this music beyond smart modern rock and roll into something deeper.
  3. May 17, 2024
    80
    Sometimes, Cage the Elephant’s lyrics can veer into a teen angst that jars against their middle-aged image: “I don’t want to play those games, will we ever be the same?”. But when they sound this good, they can just about get away with it.
  4. May 20, 2024
    78
    Arriving at just under 40 minutes, Neon Pill is some of Cage the Elephant’s most polished work to date—an emblem of the delicate care for their craft, healing and the community all funneled into its making.
  5. May 16, 2024
    70
    In terms of tone, production, and energy, Neon Pill feels connected to Social Cues. And like that album, there is plenty to enjoy, even without the powerful guitars and frenzied vocals. This softer Cage still has the grooves and melodies to keep things interesting while the band gets more comfortable.
  6. May 16, 2024
    70
    The album may have been written during a dark night of the soul but it was recorded with precision and concentration, ultimately obscuring the pain at the point of origin. It's an approach that hardly does a disservice to either Shultz or Cage the Elephant: it gives Neon Pill an alluring, subdued pulse that soothes instead of stirs.
  7. May 16, 2024
    70
    If perhaps lacking something as standout as ‘Mess Around’ or ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’, it is a welcome return for the Kentucky rockers showing after nearly 20 years together they still know how to groove.
  8. Uncut
    Jun 24, 2024
    60
    He sounds distant during "Shy Eyes'" woozy synth-funk, while "Over Your Shoulder" seems to connect his own separation and his mother's divorce in a resolute folk-pop ballad. [Aug 2024, p.31]
  9. Mojo
    May 16, 2024
    60
    An intriguing return. [Jul 2024, p.86]

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