Album Review : Cults

Title: Cults
Label: In The Name Of/ Columbia
Released: May 30

Rating: 8.0

The beat comes drifting in. Swaying amid the warm breeze, in sepia tones.

This self-titled debut from the Brooklyn-based duo starts strong with Abducted, padding in like the titles at a drive-in-movie, cutting back to a gentle, feminine lilt and bursting forward with perfect timing. A well-judged blend of sound that cuts through the entire record, in waves.

Elusive by nature, the style of Cults and this album are not neatly slotted away. The hint of slow-motion calypso rhythm, the echoes of by-gone era after by-gone era and the monster mash dance off into the shadows, leaving plenty of room for their own, big sound.

Madeline Follin’s voice bounces of itself like the gentle light in a vintage photograph and there is a playful, fairground swagger, even in moments of heartbreak. It’s the sort of record that will marry well with warm days, rolled down windows and open roads.

It is peppered with catchy one-liners, pauses for natty handclaps and a twist on the dance floor. The maelstrom of classic influences, throwback sounds and glockenspiel often intersect with grainy samples, reverb and cutting vocal.

Yet there are darker elements in the backdrop. On the surface it is a deceptively cheery listen but as Jim Jones’ voice dips through the innocent glock notes, self-deprecation lurches to the front and expletives are thrown out in an ocean of sound, the edge becomes more apparent.

The vocals weave playfully around each other throughout, picked out beautifully on stand-out track Bumper, which is straight out of another era and deliberately so. Follin’s voice ducks and dives between Brian Oblivion’s deep, grounded sound. As she croons “maybe I should start my life with someone new” you double take somewhere between standing on the shoulders of the Shangri-Las and a Beach Boys’ style TV theme tune.

Big anthems like Rave on, start out from a more traditional marriage between vocals, stripped back guitar and a big chorus. Where as the glorious, huge, otherworldly You Know What I Mean would not be out of place as the last dance at Twin Peaks’ high school disco. Knocking the lights out at the end of the quick splash of Cults on your stereo.

So low key and yet so big. From beginning to end it rolls out of the speakers like a Santa Ana wind coming in from the California desert. A warm breeze full of cherished memories and a refreshing change all at once.

Words And Thoughts Of Sofie Jenkinson

Cults - Go Outside by wereofftherails

Cults - You Know What I Mean by cultscultscults