DAUGHTRY | Cage To Rattle | Album Review

Many people would steer very clear of ever listening to something that is associated with American Idol. Since breaking out onto television screens everywhere in the early 2000's the show was praised but also ridiculed as only looking for marketable singers instead of ones that actually have vocal talent. They also seek out more trendy artists as opposed to having a wide palette of winners and contestants. One exception to this is Chris Daughtry who eventually went on to form his own group named Daughtry. As a much more rock-centered talent of the American Idol alumni, Daughtry also fell a bit under the radar since their last album came out and is now unfortunately seen as an unlikable band due to their radio ready status. That isn't a fair consensus to make considering when put up against other names like Nickelback and The Fray, Daughtry have way more bite and way more appeal, especially with the band's first three albums. Of course, the pinnacle of that was the titular frontman himself with his strong vocal presence but it also had to do a lot with the production and the music itself being much stronger. Lately though it seems like the band has calmed down a little bit in style with this being evident on the band's first album in nearly five years, "Cage To Rattle". Like with "Baptized", which was their last effort, this album is a bit less hard rock driven and instead has a much more relaxed style with occasional moments of guitar brought forth in the music. 

Getting to the pre-released material, two songs were dropped before the album's release. "Backbone", which was offered to us before this album was ever announced, is one of the few tracks on the album with a bigger drive as far as the guitarwork goes, even though the guitars aren't necessarily creating borderline hard rock styled riffs and backdrops but much more of a laid-back style. This certainly does feel like movie trailer music at points, but it still works as a very impassioned cut. Chris' vocals are also well executed here as he usually has a strong presence on anything he appears in, and this song is definitely no exception. The second single given to us, "Deep End", is definitely the song that would be sent to adult contemporary and pop stations if it were released around the time frame of the first two albums, and it's also a pretty well-executed track from this album. Listening through this song, you can tell that it has a bit of an 80's vibe to it especially when the song gets going in the first chorus and into the second bridge, and tracks like this prove that ballads or softer tracks can be executed decently or at least with a little bit of focus intact. Unfortunately though, these two tracks are the best songs you'll hear on "Cage To Rattle" aside from a couple other songs as the rest of the album does not live up to the standards set by the two singles. 

I do want to elaborate that I don't think this album is bad or unlistenable in any way. It's perfectly average and Daughtry fans may love this material because Daughtry is vocally sound throughout this album, but several tracks on this effort either just exist into oblivion or contribute into making this a boring album that doesn't have much appeal to listen to again after one or two listens. This is not exactly new for Daughtry as "Baptized" definitely fit that same description, but at the very least that album felt a little bit complete as a whole. "Cage To Rattle" is only 10 tracks many of these songs do not leave as much of an impact. Songs such as "As You Are" and "Gravity" definitely fit that description as there is truly not much to offer with these songs other than Daughtry's good voice. "Back In Time" has a slightly annoying synth line to it that gets old after about a minute of listening to the track and "Bad Habits" feels like a cynical attempt to break into the modern pop scene with pitch shifted vocals that feel a bit tacked on. Even a more energized track in the form of "Stuff Of Legends" is material that really doesn't do much although this track does have a solid chorus. There really isn't a lot of music on this album that will be considered the best of Daughtry's discography. 

Once again, I don't think this album is exactly BAD and I may be describing it in a much harsher way, but this album is very sub-par. Putting aside the two singles, only the bookends "Just Found Heaven" and "White Flag" are tracks that have some effort put into them with "Just Found Heaven" being the stronger of the two. The rest of this album is really hit or miss, and most attempts only hit the ball softly without even leaving the field. It's a shame because Daughtry is very talented and songs like "It's Not Over", "Home", and "No Surprise" are tracks I still come back to sometimes and admire hearing in a public place. With this album though I don't feel like this will have that big of an impact. I'm not exactly sure how longtime fans are tolerating this change from accessible hard rock for any demographic to a more pop-centric and less guitar driven sound but they could have made this sound work to be honest. Change isn't meant to be feared in music unless the execution is not there and the motives behind it are cynical. And while this isn't cynical in any way, "Cage To Rattle" still doesn't have much of a lasting power. If you're looking for music that's solid enough background noise for a party or while you're in your hose, this is a fine choice, but for music you'd want to hear on repeat, this isn't really it. 

RATING: 5/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.