Graduating from the Arctic Monkeys school of DIY, word of mouth-type promotion – with a bit of help from the World Wide Web – Cults are here with their dazzling, hypnotic and, more often than not, cheery-sounding debut album. For those that are as yet unfamiliar, Cults are a boyfriend and girlfriend duo from San Diego in California, who are currently based in New York and are signed to Lily Allen’s new record label In The Name Of. For their first effort, Cults seem to be proudly wearing their influences on their sleeve, although not as you might expect. Even though the album does frequently drift into oddly familiar territory from yesteryear, the overall feel of the record manages to capture a very personal and unique style from this new fascinating new band.
‘Cults’ begins with a deceptively faint beginning on album opener ‘Abducted’ which, at first, sounds vaguely reminiscent of background music being played through some grainy speakers in a railway station. However, seconds in and the song attacks with a hard beat that may well catch any unsuspecting listeners by surprise if they are indeed duped by this cunning ruse. The track then becomes an eerily enchanting love song that is intertwined with danceworthy pop music and a driving rhythm.
As the album goes on you can hear more of what can only be described as some of the more time-honoured influences, with hints of doo-wop, soul, R&B and chilled-out surf music making occasional appearances along the way. Not that this is in anyway an outdated effort. What Cults have managed to do here is to take a selection of some of their favourite sounds, blend them and package them in a freshly-combined and very individual fashion. On songs like ‘Walk At Night’ and ‘Oh My God’, you can hear the duo displaying this atmospheric and charming pop sound that is characterised, as is much of the album, by Madeleine Follin’s distinctly distant and spellbinding lead vocals.
So, if you like your pop music with a certain degree of quaintness about it, as well as a radically fresh blend of something old and something new, you’ve come to the right place. Cults are here - expect big things.
Sat May 28th 2011 - Various Bristol Venues, Bristol
Sun May 29th 2011 - Various Nottingham Venues, Nottingham
Mon May 30th 2011 - Various Manchester Venues, Manchester
Wed June 1st 2011 - The Cockpit, Leeds
Tue August 23rd 2011 - The Haymakers, Cambridge
Wed August 24th 2011 - Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
Wed August 31st 2011 - Nice 'N' Sleazy, Glasgow
Tue August 30th 2011 - Tunnels, Aberdeen, Aberdeen
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‘Cults’ begins with a deceptively faint beginning on album opener ‘Abducted’ which, at first, sounds vaguely reminiscent of background music being played through some grainy speakers in a railway station. However, seconds in and the song attacks with a hard beat that may well catch any unsuspecting listeners by surprise if they are indeed duped by this cunning ruse. The track then becomes an eerily enchanting love song that is intertwined with danceworthy pop music and a driving rhythm. 
