Cults (album)
2011 studio album by Cults
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Cults is the debut album by American indie pop band Cults. The album was released in the US on June 7, 2011, on In the Name Of, an imprint of Columbia Records. The album was recorded over the course of 2010 and early 2011. In early 2010, the band released an EP, which featured two of the songs to appear on the album; "Go Outside" and "Most Wanted". The song "Go Outside" was featured on the soundtrack of the game MLB 11: The Show on PlayStation 3. The song "Bad Things" also appears in the Hulu true crime drama series The Act during the end credits of the third episode "Two Wolverines" and the first episode of I Am Not Okay With This. It was sampled on the track "She Knows" by rapper J. Cole from the album Born Sinner. The song "You Know What I Mean" appears in episode 6 of Amy Poehler's show Russian Doll on Netflix.
| Cults | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 7, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2010–2011, Treefort Studios, Brooklyn, New York | |||
| Genres | Indie pop, noise pop | |||
| Length | 33:41 | |||
| Labels | In the Name Of, Columbia | |||
| Producers | Cults, Shane Stoneback | |||
| Cults chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cults | ||||
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The video for "Go Outside" is made up of footage of Peoples Temple members at Jonestown, and the song includes samples of leader Jim Jones speaking in the infamous death tape.[1]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| NME | (7/10)[5] |
| Pitchfork | (8.5/10)[6] |
The critical reception to Cults was generally positive. Jazz Monroe of NME said "the album isn’t quite the tremulous voyage of hearts and minds it wants to be",[5] but Hari Ashurst of the BBC said that "despite the genre signifiers there’s more than enough personality of their own here for Cults to transcend both their blog hit wonder and the timeworn sound they lovingly homage".[7]
Pitchfork placed the album at number 46 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011".[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Abducted" | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Go Outside" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "You Know What I Mean" | 2:32 |
| 4. | "Most Wanted" | 3:05 |
| 5. | "Walk at Night" | 3:05 |
| 6. | "Never Heal Myself" | 3:03 |
| 7. | "Oh My God" | 3:21 |
| 8. | "Never Saw the Point" | 3:04 |
| 9. | "Bad Things" | 3:40 |
| 10. | "Bumper" | 2:42 |
| 11. | "Rave On" | 2:52 |
| Total length: | 33:41 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Beach Ball" | 2:26 |
| 13. | "Make Time" | 3:01 |
| 14. | "Valentine" | 3:22 |
| Total length: | 42:30 | |
Personnel
Cults
- Madeline Follin – vocals, production
- Brian Oblivion – guitar, keyboards, percussion, production (all tracks), background vocals (3)
Additional personnel
- Shane Stoneback – production, mixing, engineering
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Joe LaPorta – mastering
- Ever Ronquillo – engineering assistance
- Will McLaren – bass (3), guitar (6, 8)
- Loren Humphrey – drums (3, 8)
- David Bett – art direction, design
- Jeannette Kaczorowski – art direction, design
- Eric Chakeen – cover photo
- Ben Pier – photography
- Bettman – photography
- Corbis – photography
- Steve Simon – photography
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[9] | 89 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[10] | 133 |
| US Billboard 200[11] | 52 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[12] | 12 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[13] | 14 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[14] | 14 |