When NYC indie-pop band Cults released their self-titled EP in 2010, America was revitalized by their ’60s-style bubblegum tunes about love and happiness. However, with the split of the band’s two core members, Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, their recently released album Static creates a mood of confusion and disillusionment.
While still maintaining upbeat vibes prominent in prior work, Cults harden their sound to go with their moodier lyrics. Abandoning the happy-go-lucky words of the two young lovers they were before, Static encompasses self-doubt and desolation.
The album opens with “I Know,” a soft-spoken melody that clashes with the hard-edged beat of “I Can Hardly Make You Mine.” Follin sings, “But we both know what it’s like to be lonely/Well, these fantasies, they left us lonely.”
These lyrics are much of what the album consists of, forlorn love and bitter accusations.
Coursing with emotion, the album is a good but exhausting listen. Easily the best song on the album, “High Road,” is a reflective, mellow beat that contrasts with the rest of Static. The music video, a black and white artsy feature, has been compared with “Karma Police” by Radiohead and “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes.
The album ends with another great track, titled “No Hope.” Follin croons of resentment, “I know you’re mine, but still I cry/It makes no difference.” In an interview regarding the album, she said, “There’s a feeling our generation has. The feeling there’s always something better around the corner, that everyone is born to be a star. The feeling that life is waiting for you, and yet it’s not happening. All of that is static.” And that, perhaps, is a perfect reflection of the album.
Rating: B
