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 a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band formed in New York City in 2010. The band first rose to prominence after the release of their debut extended play, ''Cults 7″'' (2010), which was released on their

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

page. They signed with English singer

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...

's record label In the Name Of, an imprint of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

to release their eponymous debut studio album (2011). A song from the album, "Bad Things" was sampled by American rapper J. Cole for his 2013 single, " She Knows", on which they were credited as featured artists.

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 coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, were students in New York City. Oblivion went to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

to study documentary cinema, while Follin went to

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

. Follin had previously recorded with punk band

Youth Gone Mad Youth Gone Mad is an American punk rock band founded in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1980 by Paul "ENA" Kostabi (also of White Zombie and Psychotica). Youth Gone Mad signed onto the Posh Boy Records roster, scored a minor radio ...

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 visual artist, musician, record producer and audio engineer. He is the brother of the visual artist and musician Mark Kostabi. ...

at Thunderdome Studios, and the album earned the title of "Best New Music" by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''. 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 Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991) Additional on October 9, 2016 is an American actress, singer and producer. Known for her performances spanning multiple genres of film and television, her work in the horror film, horror and thriller ...

and

Dave Franco David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor and filmmaker. He began his career with small roles in films such as '' Superbad'' (2007) and '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the final season of the comed ...

. Another video featured the band intercut with footage of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

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, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

. Their eponymous debut studio album was released on June 7, 2011, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

imprint In the Name Of 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 on a version of the track "Um Canto De Afoxé para o Bloco Do Ilê" for the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

's most recent charity album ''Red Hot+Rio 2''. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 ''

Red Hot + Rio Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

''. 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 and 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 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...

, 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'', 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 one on the ''Billboard'' 200. The song later peaked at number 90 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also in 2013, the band released their second album, '' Static'', in the aftermath of the duo's breakup. Reviews were generally favorable. In 2016, Follin collaborated with her brother Richie James Follin 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''. On September 18, 2020, the band released their fourth album, ''

Host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

''. On August 17, 2021, their single "Always Forever" was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America 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/o ...

(RIAA) and later was certified platinum on July 18, 2022.

Band members

* Brian Oblivion – vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass guitar, percussion, production * Madeline Follin – vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, production

Current touring members

* John Eatherly - drums * Max Kamins - bass guitar * Cory Stier - drums * Marc Deriso – drums * Loren Humphrey - drums

Former touring members

* Nathan Aguilar – bass guitar * Richie Follin – guitars * Gabriel Rodriguez – guitars

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 Page

Cults' Bandcamp Page
*
Cults la pop, l'amour&les cheveux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cults 2010 establishments in New York City American dream pop musical groups American pop music duos American rock music duos Experimental pop groups Indie pop groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical duos from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from New York City Psychedelic pop music groups Synth rock groups Twee pop groups