Cults is an American
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
band formed in New York City in 2010. The band first came to prominence when they posted a three-song EP, ''Cults 7"'', on their
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
page.
They are signed to
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
and
In the Name Of
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Indepe ...
, a record label that was set up by
British singer
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...
.
History

Cults formed in 2010 while guitarist Brian Oblivion and singer Madeline Follin, both from
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, were students in New York City. Oblivion went to NYU to study documentary cinema, Follin went to The New School.
Madeline had previously recorded with punk band
Youth Gone Mad on the album, ''
Touching Cloth''. Cults released an EP on Forrest Family Records, ''Cults 7"'', with the track "Go Outside" recorded by
Paul Kostabi
Paul Indrek Kostabi (also known as Ena; born October 1, 1962 in Whittier, California, United States) is an American artist, musician, record producer and audio engineer. He is the brother of artist Mark Kostabi.
Kostabi was a founding member o ...
at Thunderdome Studios, named "Best New Music" by
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
. They toured supporting the Richie Follin's Band with overlapping members for six months before signing to ITNO/Sony. Their song "Go Outside" had a video made for it which starred
Emma Roberts and
Dave Franco. Another video featured the band inter-cut with footage of
Jim Jones and
Jonestown
The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...
.
Their self-titled debut album, ''
Cults'', was released on June 7, 2011, by
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
imprint
In the Name Of
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Indepe ...
run by Lily Allen. The album received generally positive reviews, and a second "Best New Music" from Pitchfork was earned for the track "Abducted".
In 2011 Cults collaborated with the group
Superhuman Happiness
The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. T ...
on a version of the track "Um Canto De Afoxé para o Bloco Do Ilê" for the
Red Hot Organisation's most recent charity album ''Red Hot+Rio 2''. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 ''
Red Hot + Rio''. Proceeds from sales were donated toward causes raising awareness of AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. The band was chosen to perform at the
ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival curated by ATP &
Portishead in September 2011 in
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188 , and also by
Battles to perform at the
ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.
In early 2012 Cults played the Australasian music festival Laneways. In an interview with 3news they said people could expect a more "aggressive sound" with a lot of changes being made to songs as a five-piece band.
In an interview with the magazine ''Coup De Main'',
Madeline Follin was quoted saying that "You Know What I Mean" is her favorite song on their self-titled debut album.
In 2013 they were featured alongside
Amber Coffman on
J. Cole's ''
Born Sinner'' album which peaked at number 1 on the
''Billboard'' 200. The song later peaked at number 90 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Also in 2013, the band recorded their second album, ''
Static'', in the aftermath of the duo's breakup. Reviews were generally favorable.
In 2016, Madeline Follin collaborated with her brother
Richie James Follin
Richie James Follin is an American musician, guitarist, keyboard player, singer songwriter who has been in a number of bands.
In 2001, Follin formed and fronted The Willowz, a garage rock band based in Anaheim, California. The band's sound inc ...
for a side-project called Follin. Their single "Roxy" was released online on February 23 of that year.
On October 6, 2017, the band released their third album, ''Offering''.
In 2019 the song "You Know What I Mean" was featured as the outro to episode 6 of
Netflix's ''
Russian Doll
Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside an ...
''.
On September 18, 2020, the band released their fourth album, ''Host.''
On August 17, 2021, the single "Always Forever" was certified gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
and later was certified platinum on July 18, 2022.
Band members
* Brian Oblivion – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
* Madeline Follin – vocals
Live members
* Cory Stier - drums
* Max Kamins - bass guitar
* Nathan Aguilar – bass guitar (past)
* Marc Deriso – drums
* Richie Follin – guitar (past)
* Gabriel Rodriguez – aux, guitar (past)
* Loren Humphrey - drums
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other charted songs and certified songs
Guest appearances
Production and songwriting credits
References
External links
*
Cults' MySpace PageCults' Bandcamp Page*
Cults la pop, l'amour&les cheveux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cults
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)
Musical groups established in 2010
Musical groups from New York City
2010 establishments in New York City