Cage the Elephant has explored the nooks and crannies of blues, soul, punk, and rock. Their first two albums were often described in terms of what had influenced them — classic indie-punk like the Pixies and the Stooges — instead of the originality of their own music. But on 'Melophobia' the band made a concious effort to avoid those trappings and even shut their ears to as much recorded music as possible.