Midway through Cage the Elephant’s new video for Neon Pill single “Out Loud,” the emotion becomes overwhelming. Vocalist Matt Shultz is sitting in a near-empty house, seemingly revisiting his childhood home and all the memories attached to the location. But shortly before the final chorus, we see that same house in ruins — shards of wood on the carpet, shrubbery overgrown, the house condemned. Shultz walks away one last time, the buzzing of the Kentucky woods echoing his steps through the tall grass. (Watch the debut of the new clip below.)
“Out Loud” doesn’t explicitly reveal its inspiration, but it revolves heavily around Matt and guitarist Brad Shultz’ father passing during the pandemic. Even with its oratorical title, Matt counterbalances mourning his father by spelling out intrusive thoughts: “Man, I really messed up now,” he repeats on the chorus. It’s as much a remembrance of his father’s life and steadfast support until his death as it is a sobering look in the mirror for a man who has finally come out the other side of one of his darkest hours.
It’s been five years since Cage the Elephant’s previous album, 2019’s Social Cues, and the time away wasn’t exactly kind to the Shultz brothers. After their father passed, Matt isolated himself; he and his wife briefly separated, and he was arrested in New York City on charges of felony firearm possession. The incident was a wake-up call to say the least, and served as a major catalyst for Neon Pill, Cage the Elephant’s triumphant sixth album.
“It’s one of those things that I never imagined happening,” Matt tells Consequence about his recent struggle with mental health, addiction, and grief. “I’m not going to say I’m happy that it happened, but I definitely did learn some deep lessons in life. I have a much deeper empathy and sympathy for anyone else who goes through that.”
Neon Pill may have been born from stagnancy and strife, but the resulting collection is undoubtedly a high point for Cage the Elephant. Matt bares his soul quite a few times, but Cage the Elephant don’t sound weakened or weathered — they sound renewed. “I think we’re a band that’s always striving to make music that’s honest to us,” says Brad.
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While the honest reflections in Neon Pill are sobering, the arena in which the band is discussing them is much more celebratory. We’re backstage at Bonnaroo, where Cage the Elephant are about to perform a massively-attended sub-headlining set. The festival appearance comes just days before the official kick-off of their summer tour supporting Neon Pill, with Young the Giant and Bakar along for the ride (get tickets here). But this ‘Roo is a special occasion for the Shultz brothers, who grew up nearby in Bowling Green, Kentucky and even attended the third-ever Bonnaroo. “It’s close to home, so to just be able to share it with our family and friends…,” Brad says, “I feel like this might be a record to be proud of, or maybe not — but we just learned that we set the all time largest guest list in Bonnaroo history.”
