Cults - Static

Would it be a little premature to have nostalgia for 2011, otherwise known as the year of the fine debut? James Blake, Yuck, Katy B, Anna Calvi, Washed Out, Cocknbullkid and Jamie Woon were all competing to be the year's most memorable breakthrough (well, let's be honest, half of them weren't but they had good albums at least) but the chamber-pop duo Cults may have just taken the biscuit. Since then, their singles Go Outside and Abducted have been popping up all over the place in adverts, movie trailers and TV soundtracks, and for a brief moment it looked like the pair would enjoy the same crossover success that Foster the People and Ed Sheeran were reeling in that year.

It never materialised, and in fact, that was the least of their problems. Their debut may have come across as the chirpy, lovestruck pop of a couple in love but it was to see their romance fade. Speaking about their decision to continue with Pitchfork, Madeline Follin revealed:

"I don't think there was ever a question about whether or not it was going to work out," Follin says. "The question was how," Oblivion quickly follows up, with a thought-finishing eagerness that suggests that, despite the split, the two are still on the same page. "When you're in a relationship with somebody, it's OK if you scream at them," he says with a nervous laugh. "If you're not in a relationship, though, it's just cruel. I think we actually communicate better now, because you can't freak out on your friend and then just make up afterwards. That's too weird."

I don't think any of the fans of their debut were particularly emotionally-invested in the relationships of its band members - we are, after all, a little above the Paramore drama - but it'll be interesting to see if the sound of Static is any different.

A channel-hopping acoustic intro 'I Know' is our first taste and it's a fairly dramatic refrain ("I know you're mine but still I die") over a splendid modern rock & roll structure. It quickly fades into the perkier, stomping 'I Can Hardly Make You Mine', that easily stands about as arguably their catchiest song to date, and much of that is indebted to the silent partner Brian Oblivion. The lyrics are a little more optimistic though on 'Always Forever', with the unexpectedly cheery notion of "You and me always forever/ We can stay alone together", but again it's the fantastic arrangements - the guitar solo leading up to the choruses, the intro's plodding solitude, that bridge - that make it so delightful. Most tracks here contain at least bits that make them enjoyable: 'High Road' isn't by any means an album highlight, but has a bassline that continues to grow on me more and more with each listen, and 'So Far' is nothing if not a fine piece of drumming.

Oblivion (I'm just as disappointed to find out it's not his real name, too) promotes himself to co-vocalist on 'Were Before', which initially appears to plod along uneventfully before its punchy climax, but is otherwise content to take a backseat: 'Keep Your Head Up' is totally all about Follin's status as a distant, to-be-observed frontwoman with her joyfree disposition and dramatic pauses. The track itself is a lot poppier than most of their work, and that's saying something.

An acoustic and vaguely eerie interlude ('TV Dream') gives the album a bit of a stronger sense of theme but to be honest I'm not really that fussed about that when there're pop songs as fine as 'We've Got It' and 'Shine a Light' standing out - the former is a kind of Western movie showdown soundtrack with Motown drums, and the latter is a strong tribute to their self-titled effort's love of simple melodies and general cuteness. The theatrical closer 'No Hope' is a fine chunk of glam rock-inspired cascades, but the stronger emphasis is on Follin: her vocals are less hazy here, and spouting rhyming couplets like "burn down the bridges, burn down the town/ forget tomorrow, no one's around". It all sounds very fun and listenable but I can't help but wonder if the song's a sign of things to come.

For the time being, however, Cults are still making great music and have made an album as strong as - if not stronger than - the one that made them such a buzz two years ago. That some institutions have gone off them a little bit is to be expected given their fickle nature, and petulant anti-anything stance - this is a serious excerpt from that review:

I like to imagine it's a classic industry kiss-off, a declaration of independence. Can't you almost see the executives listening these demos and frowning, grumbling about "not hearing another 'Go Outside'"?

So yeah, fuck the fleeting mobs like that guy and enjoy another fine album.

Rating: 8.5/10
Highlights: Always Forever; Were Before; I Can Hardly Make You Mine; Shine a Light; No Hope
Avoid: n/a

Artwork Watch: Lovely.
Up next: Justin Timberlake (AGAIN, SIGH)