Album Review: Cage – I Never Knew You EP (2009)

Album Review: Cage – I Never Knew You EP (2009)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Potholes

After years of turbulence and pain in his early years, Cage has steadied himself into a solid recording career, fitting seamlessly into the web of creative acts spawned off by Def Jux. Cage’s last full-length, 2005’s Hell’s Winter, marked a significant change in his lifestyle. He no longer glorified or advocated drug use or misogyny. However, the pains felt from a troubled childhood full of drug and physical abuse still cut their way into his records in the most alarming senses.

Cage carries that emotion over to his latest project, I Never Knew You, an EP that preludes the upcoming release of Depart From Me – his latest full-length project. At times criticized for rapping just silly rhetoric with no true purpose, Cage comes with a full focus on I Never Knew You. He unleashes anguish at those around him who have harmed him or dragged him down the wrong paths. He takes particular time to ruminate on what he may have lost – life experiences, love, etc. – which casts a lonely, somber shadow on numerous tracks. What is impressive about Cage is his refined ability to really emit vivid imagery through his songs. On “Hell Oh” he takes you on a surreal, dream-like ride of a paradise gone wrong. However, where his songs fall a bit short is his development of choruses, which at times seem out of place and lyrically uninspired (especially when compared to his verses).

Being a Def Jux release, the production is about what one would expect. There are no brain-squeezing beats that completely transform the track. Still, the production is very appropriate for Cage’s at times atmospheric, often dark and tormented lyrics. Heavy guitars stab away over lively drums, and sticky electronic synths, leading to a sound that is part metal, part trip-hop, and part techno. I Never Knew You is an impressive EP if not for its own musical merits, then for the promise that it delivers for a terrific summer release from Cage.