Neon Pill

Album: Neon Pill (2024)
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Songfacts®:

  • Released on January 19, 2024, "Neon Pill" marks Cage the Elephant's first sonic salvo since their 2019 album Social Cue. The comeback anthem opens with some apt lines:

    Takes one to know one back at it again
    Birds of a feather
    Until the end
  • In January 2023, Cage The Elephant frontman Matt Shultz was arrested in a New York hotel for carrying unlicensed firearms. A court later ruled that his actions stemmed from psychotic delusions - a nasty side effect of his medication. After eight months of treatment, Shultz got back on track. The "Neon Pill" title refers to the medication that caused his problems. It paints a picture of something seemingly helpful turning harmful.
  • Cage The Elephant recorded "Neon Pill" at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, with their Social Cue producer John Hill.
  • Shultz' battle with his medication is reflected in the song's themes of isolation. The lyrics hint at strained relationships, with the second verse mentioning an old love and a familiar taste - perhaps a nostalgic reminder of a happier time. Interestingly, the verse then shifts to French - Shultz has a French ex-wife.
  • Asked by NME what delusions he had, Schulz said:

    "One that I think is pretty ironic is that I thought someone was trying to poison me and tampering with my medication. I had this general feeling as though I was always being chased and that my life was in danger and that was someone was trying to kill me. I was certain that something to do with my medication was destroying my life and the odd thing is the medication was destroying my life.

    I was so close to the truth but so far away at the same time. When I wrote 'Neon Pill,' my brother Brad [Shultz, Cage The Elephant guitarist] said, 'The really sad thing is you're so close to seeing the truth, but you're just not quite there.'"

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