Daughtry's Cage to Rattle is great fun music

Cage to Rattle is Daughtry’s fifth studio album, released on July 28, 2018, it was released five years after their last album, Baptized (2013). It received predominately positive reviews from music critics with some calling the album the band’s strongest and most mature to date. Working with a new producer, Jacquie King, the band explores “new musical styles far away from the earnest, polished pop-rock of its predecessors” (Gary Graff, www.billboard.com). Cage to Rattle has been called a crossroads of sort as it is devoid of the usual angst and has “an honest, open, encouraging effort that’s ready to rattle” (www.pluggedin.com). The album speaks to the anxieties and pressures we all face daily but encourages listeners to face them head on, to keep going.

I have been a fan of Daughtry since 2013 when their song, Gone too Soon, from their 2011 album, Break the Spell, helped me through my darkest days after the loss of my newborn daughter. I received this album as a Christmas gift and immediately was drawn to four songs which became my favorites. First, Deep End is a message of love and encouragement in times of need. It is very emotional and when I heard it for the first time I immediately thought my husband and I with lyrics like “We're all swimming into the light/I want you by my side/And I'm right here waiting for you/Right here waiting for you/We're all living on borrowed time/I've been holding my breath all night/Waiting for you.” Second, Death of Me is where the album gets its title. The song is filled with emotion and frustration at the difficulties of life’s obstacles: “We're all under pressure/Can't stand the weather/For the worse and not for the better/Please, this ain't the way to live/Something's got to give.” But the song offers hope to hold on: “Blood is thicker than water/But love is even stronger/Hold out a little longer/Until we found ourselves/Again, again…” I also enjoy the song, Back in Time as a call to memories of the newness and excitement of a relationship when we were “doing things that Momma said don't do.” Lastly, White Flag closes out the album as an anthem with spiritual aspects to keep fighting through hard times: “With one hand, we're reaching for the sky/And one hand, holding on for life/I won't raise my, I won't raise my white flag.”

While researching the album for my review, I found other reviews which weren’t very glowing and downright hated the album. I understand that Daughtry’s type of music isn’t for everyone. Just like with beauty, music is in the ear of the listener. If you are a fan of Daughtry, you will enjoy this new album. It has the heart and soul of their previous albums as well as an added depth and maturity to the topics which the songs cover. I find some songs to be fun and others to be the encouraging anthems I look for when I was to rock out my frustrations and cry out my fears. I highly recommend Cage to Rattle.