Drink the Kool-Aid

More than any other band in recent memory, Cults embodies what can happen when the immediacy and interconnectedness of the music blogosphere perfectly align. Just a couple weeks after posting a whopping three songs to their Bandcamp site, couple Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin found their music moniker turning up all over teh interwebz.

Even though the music was a hit, everyone was asking the same question: Who the hell is Cults?

The answer starts with some expertly crafted pop music and ends rather abruptly. With a name that’s impossibly difficult to Google, the two maintained a low profile after their accidental rise to fame, waiting to release their debut despite its completion. The eponymous LP is mesmerizing, spanning multiple eras of influence (both 60s and 80s pop) and an everything-in-motion fluidity that sounds almost too easy for two (now former) NYU film students.

While it’s certainly catchy, “catchy” pop is cheap and easy. Cults’ particular brand sounds much more charming and often uses exclamation points, like colorful vibraphone percussion or grungy guitar, to cap off their songs. “Go Outside,” the first single that caught music’s collective eye, enchants with a bell line that imitates Follin’s long, arcing vocal melody and keeps the song from ever dragging.

Most of the tracks are overcast with reverb and some feature whispering samples of cult leaders like Jim Jones giving speeches. The linchpin of it all, though, is Follin’s voice, deftly capable of juxtaposing soft and sweet or defiant and desperate.

The latter presents itself the moment she belts out the first notes of the opener “Abducted” and is assisted by the immediacy of Phil Spector-style production. They enlisted the help of Shane Stoneback of Sleigh Bells fame, if that’s any indicator.

Follin and Oblivion do tone it down at times, like on the slower, Supremes-esque “You Know What I Mean” or their make-up/break-up dialogue on “Bumper,” which are their most outright throwback moments. The duo is at their best when keenly optimistic, aided by brilliant melodies like “Oh My God,” no doubt the album’s best track, drenched in reverb and lo-fi sheen.

Cults relishes mystery and intrigue, it’s why the LP rejects the inside in favor of the outside, ditching confinement for discovery and liberation. The concept is timeless and, in this case, a wonderfully presented idea that empowers and inspires listeners with deceivingly complex melodies and an unrelenting charm.