The Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll Awards

CD Reviews

Cults | Cults

In The Name Of/Columbia (2011)

By JEREMY ADAMS | June 7, 2011

3.0 Stars

Don't let the ominous band name or Brooklyn-hipster über cool of boy-girl duo Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion fool you. Beneath the surface, they're just a couple of crazy kids in love — with each other and with the saccharine sounds of the Brill Building '60s. On their debut, Cults make retro-style pop in the tradition of the Shangri-Las and more contemporaneous outfits like the Pipettes and Tennis. "You Know What I Mean" is a lovelorn ballad built around finger snaps and arpeggiated organ, while "Bumper" is a he-said/she-said piano sing-a-long that could easily find its home in an updated version of Grease. (Movie producers, listen up.) Cults are at their best, however, when the group emits that certain spookiness, as on potential breakout single "Abducted" or the dread-filled "Bad Things," in which Follin warns, "Next time you're praying/You'll be praying for me." Otherwise, the album is primarily an exercise in throwback songwriting, with the occasional hip-hop beat or creepy sound effect added for modernization purposes. It's all good fun, but (mostly) all been done before.

CULTS + GUARDS + WRITER | Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston | June 12 @ 8pm | $12 | 617.779.0140

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