Social Cues

For the expressed verbal or non-verbal signals, see Social cue.

Social Cues is the fifth studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Announced on January 31, 2019, the album was released on April 19, 2019.^[2] Social Cues won the award for Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, making it the band's second album to win the award after Tell Me I'm Pretty.

Social Cues
Studio album by Cage the Elephant
Released	April 19, 2019
Recorded	2018
Studio	Battle Tapes Recording, Blackbird Studio and Sound Emporium in Nashville, Tennessee Village Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California[1]
Length	44:35
Label	RCA
Producer	John Hill[1]
Cage the Elephant chronology
Unpeeled (2017) Social Cues (2019) Neon Pill (2024)
Singles from Social Cues
"Ready to Let Go" Released: January 31, 2019 "Social Cues" Released: July 6, 2019 "Black Madonna" Released: January 14, 2020 "Skin and Bones" Released: October 13, 2020

Background

On November 26, 2018, the band announced on Twitter that their new album was "Done. Mixed. Mastered."^[3] On January 31, 2019, the band officially released "Ready to Let Go", the first single from Social Cues.^[1] On March 8, 2019, "House of Glass", the second advance track from the album was released. A collaboration with Beck, "Night Running" was released on March 28, 2019. The final song released in advance of the album was "Goodbye", released on April 8, 2019. Many of the songs (Such as "Goodbye", "Ready to Let Go", and "Love's the Only Way") were based on the divorce that Matt Shultz went through with his ex-wife, Juliette Buchs.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.7/10[4]
Metacritic	75/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Consequence of Sound	B−[7]
DIY	[8]
The Independent	[9]
The Line of Best Fit	4.5/10[10]
NME	[11]
The New York Times	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
The Skinny	[14]
Under the Radar	[15]

Social Cues received generally positive reviews upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating of reviews from mainstream publications, it received a 75 out of 100 - indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[5] Social Cues has an average rating of 6.7 on AnyDecentMusic?^[4].

Track listing

Social Cues track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Broken Boy"	B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, John Hill	2:43
2.	"Social Cues"	B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, Hill	3:39
3.	"Black Madonna"		3:47
4.	"Night Running" (with Beck)	B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, Beck Hansen, Natalie Belle Bergman	3:28
5.	"Skin and Bones"		3:16
6.	"Ready to Let Go"		3:08
7.	"House of Glass"		2:35
8.	"Love's the Only Way"		4:01
9.	"The War Is Over"		3:16
10.	"Dance Dance"	B. Shultz, Tichenor, Champion, M. Shultz, Minster, Bockrath, Hill	3:10
11.	"What I'm Becoming"		3:50
12.	"Tokyo Smoke"		3:26
13.	"Goodbye"		4:16
Total length:			44:35

All tracks are written by Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matt Shultz, Matthan Minster & Nick Bockrath, except where noted

Personnel

Cage the Elephant

• Nick Bockrath – lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, celeste, cello
• Jared Champion – drums, percussion
• Matthan Minster – piano, keyboards, rhythm guitar, vibraphone, backing vocals
• Brad Shultz – rhythm guitar, keyboards
• Matt Shultz – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Daniel Tichenor – bass

Additional musicians

• Elliot Bergman – horn
• Jacob Braun – cello
• Charlie Bisharat – violin
• David Campbell – string arrangements, conductor
• Matt Combs – cello, violin, viola
• Gina Corso – violin
• Kyle Davis – percussion
• Mario Deleon – violin
• Lisa Dodlinger – violin
• Andrew Duckles – viola
• Beck – vocals
• John Hill – keyboards
• Leah Katz – viola
• Ginger Murphy – cello
• Sara Parkins – violin
• Kerenza Peacock – violin
• Katie Schecter – backing vocals
• Dave Stone – bass
• Steve Trudell – string contractor
• The W. Crimm Singers – backing vocals

Production

• Rob Cohen – engineering
• Tom Elmhirst – mixing
• Jeremy Ferguson – engineer
• David Greenbaum – engineer
• John Hill – production
• Randy Merrill – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for Social Cues

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australia Albums (ARIA)[16]	77
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17]	47
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18]	72
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19]	21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20]	59
French Albums (SNEP)[21]	146
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[22]	36
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23]	31
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24]	22
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]	38
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	79
US Billboard 200[27]	21

References

1. Childers, Chad (January 31, 2019). "Cage the Elephant Announce Social Cues Album, Release "Ready to Let Go" Video". Loudwire. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
2. "Cage The Elephant Announced 'Social Cues' With 'Ready To Let Go'". Uproxx. January 31, 2019.
3. Cage the Elephant (November 26, 2018). "Record done. Mixed. Mastered" – via Twitter.
4. "Social Cues by Cage The Elephant reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
5. "Social Cues by Cage The Elephant Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review of Social Cues at AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
7. Sharples, Grant (April 19, 2019). "Cage the Elephant Stay in Their Comfort Zone on Social Cues". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
8. "Cage The Elephant - Social Cues". DIY. April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
9. O’Connor, Roisin (April 18, 2019). "Album reviews: Lizzo – Cuz I Love You, Fat White Family – Serfs Up! and Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
10. Lynch, Ben. "Cage the Elephant's Social Cues is a mish-mash of ideas and missed opportunities". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
11. Trendell, Andrew (April 18, 2019). "Cage The Elephant – 'Social Cues' review". New Musical Express. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
12. Pareles, Jon (April 17, 2019). "Cage the Elephant Returns, Suspended Between Rowdiness and Regret". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
13. Fricke, David (April 17, 2019). "Review: Cage the Elephant Battle Rock Star Fatigue on 'Social Cues'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
14. Ryan, Aidan (April 17, 2019). "Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". The Skinny. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
15. Raven, Matthew (April 17, 2019). "Cage The Elephant: Social Cues (RCA) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
16. "ARIA Report: Issue 1521" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 1, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
17. "Austriancharts.at – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
18. "Ultratop.be – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
19. "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
21. "Lescharts.com – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
22. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. April 26, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
23. "Portuguesecharts.com – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
24. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Cage the Elephant – Social Cues". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
27. "Cage the Elephant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2019.