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Thank You, Happy Birthday Image
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 57 Ratings

  • Summary: The Kentucky quintet's sophomore album is filled with noisy guitars and pop-laced alternative rock jams, comparable to bands like the Pixies and Cake.
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Top Track

Shake Me Down
Shake me down Not a lot of people left around Who knows now Softly laying on the ground, ooooh Not a lot people left around, ooooh. ooooh In my... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Q Magazine
    May 2, 2011
    80
    Matt Shultz makes a natural showman firmly in the mouth Perry Farrell mould. Front of house taken care of, it's then just a matter of pairing the noise and excitement, something they achieve in short, sharp bursts with room to spare. [Apr 2011, p.98]
  2. 80
    The Kentucky combo Cage the Elephant manage to find a new wrinkle on the face of US indie-punk, thanks to an enthusiasm for yoking catchy melodies to abrasive guitar riffs that recalls the Pixies.
  3. Uncut
    Mar 29, 2011
    80
    They've sorted through a kitbag of 80 songs and made good on the potential. [Apr 2011, p.77]
  4. Jan 11, 2011
    70
    While the grand and sometimes snotty lyrics might not be to all tastes, anyone who misses the days when rock radio loved Nirvana and Blur will find his retro rave-up easy to embrace.
  5. 70
    Basically, the album's a mess of melody, noise, stupidity, screaming and big choruses that does its bit for the all-important Campaign Against Intellectualism In Rock. Fun.
  6. Mar 18, 2011
    70
    They don't offer much that's new, but this album is far too enjoyable to squabble over that.
  7. 60
    It all seems more diverse than it actually sounds, and true, the band borrows plenty, including some room to play around with the sound, but Thank You Happy Birthday transcends its genres, and would be better simply labeled as a solid second step.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Jan 14, 2011
    10
    Une albulm vraiment l'fun à écouté, le Cage The Elephant style à son meilleur. C'estUne albulm vraiment l'fun à écouté, le Cage The Elephant style à son meilleur. C'est exactement ce à quoi on veux s'attendre quand on écoute un nouveau disque. Le tout est divertissant et diversifié. C'est simplement excellent. Thank You Happy Birthday est la pour comblé tout coeur. Expand
  2. Apr 19, 2012
    10
    To be honest, it didn't really hit me as being all that great at first. I enjoyed their debut album a lot. I just keep finding myself comingTo be honest, it didn't really hit me as being all that great at first. I enjoyed their debut album a lot. I just keep finding myself coming back to this album time and time again. Once every couple of weeks, I will just listen through all of it. The variety of music on this album is great. I find that I don't get used to one particular sound throughout the whole album. It keeps you on your toes. Good stuff. Expand
  3. Jan 13, 2011
    9
    Very good album. Song's are use for video game called "Borderlands", and they bring all the excitement in you. Strong lyrics make a greatVery good album. Song's are use for video game called "Borderlands", and they bring all the excitement in you. Strong lyrics make a great combination with the instruments. Expand
  4. Jun 8, 2011
    7
    Let's have a minor celebration for a band showing defined improvement simply because it occurs so infrequently these days. Kentucky rockersLet's have a minor celebration for a band showing defined improvement simply because it occurs so infrequently these days. Kentucky rockers Cage The Elephant have distilled their tangled mess of post punk, garage and grunge and added a pop sensibility which makes "Thank You Happy Birthday" a more than worthy follow up to their 2008 self titled debut. Singer Matthew Shultz confidently mixes howls, growls and shrieks with deliberate melodies, entrusting guitarist brother Brad and the rest of the band to enthusiastically bash out discordant noises with refreshing gusto. In addition, thereâ Expand
  5. Feb 9, 2014
    7
    Thank You, Happy Birthday has it's moments but at times it's simply too harsh. Some songs are so intense that they're hard to listen to butThank You, Happy Birthday has it's moments but at times it's simply too harsh. Some songs are so intense that they're hard to listen to but those moments are few and far between and overall it is a pretty solid album, but it certainly is not for everyone. Collapse
  6. j30
    Jul 20, 2011
    7
    Definitely a step forward from their first album. There's still work to be done on this band, but their future is bright as long as they don'tDefinitely a step forward from their first album. There's still work to be done on this band, but their future is bright as long as they don't sell-out like their song Sell Yourself warns. There's too many ideas going around and it makes the album feel uneven. One main influence I can draw from this album is obvious, the Pixies. Which is not a bad thing and should follow that idea rather than some of their other chaotic ones (Indy Kidz). I'm excited to see what they do next time around. Key Tracks: Always Something, Shake Me Down (way too overplayed), and Right Before My Eyes. Expand
  7. Nov 9, 2012
    5
    It's the Pixies, but more grounded.

See all 14 User Reviews