Cults

Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion form the duo Cults, whose shimmering experimental pop fuses diaphanous textures with unexpectedly forceful emotional undercurrents. Their 2010 breakout track “Go Outside” employed dreamy pop atmospherics alongside 1960s girl-group vocal blends to frame Follin’s warmly compassionate delivery, establishing the foundation for the pair’s signature approach. Subsequent releases explored fresh shadings of that core aesthetic: vivid Technicolor energy on the 2011 album Cults; somber echoes of the couple’s romantic dissolution on 2013’s Static; and a polished, streamlined method shaped by the electro-pop acts that emerged afterward on 2017’s Offering. Follin’s expanding creative role on 2020’s Host strengthened the fragile yet lasting charm of Cults’ work, a quality further confirmed by the online virality of earlier material and the sweet sparseness of 2024’s To the Ghosts.

Cults originated in 2010 while San Francisco natives Follin and Oblivion studied in New York City, with Oblivion pursuing documentary film at NYU and Follin enrolled at the New School. Still together romantically, they composed and tracked material in Oblivion’s apartment on a computer and inexpensive MIDI keyboard, issuing their self-titled debut EP on Forest Family Records before year’s end. One EP cut, “Go Outside,” captured with Paul Kostabi at Thunderdome Studios, spread rapidly online and drew praise from outlets such as Pitchfork and NME.

Building on that momentum, Cults spent six months on the road supporting Richie Follin’s Band, the project led by Madeline’s older brother, before joining In the Name Of, the Columbia Records imprint established by Lily Allen. Produced by Shane Stoneback, the June 2011 self-titled full-length expanded their atmospheric, retro-futuristic indie pop and registered on charts in the U.K., Canada, and the U.S., reaching number 52 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. The same year the duo contributed to the AIDS/HIV research benefit collection Red Hot + Rio 2, joining Superhuman Happiness for a version of “Um Canto de Afoxé para o Bloco Do Ilê.” While promoting the album they performed at the Portishead-curated ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror festival in September and at ATP’s Battles-curated Nightmare Before Christmas festival in December.

October 2013 brought Cults’ second album, Static. Cut with Stoneback after Follin and Oblivion’s split, it earned robust notices for its heartfelt writing and climbed to number 114 on the Billboard Top 200. That month the pair also appeared alongside Amber Coffman on J. Cole’s “She Knows” from Born Sinner, which reached number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. After the 2014 single “Being It,” Cults paused activities; in 2016 Follin launched the group Follin with her brother Richie and released the single “Roxy” in February.

For the next record the duo adopted a more collaborative process, with Follin contributing drums and keyboards in addition to vocals. Following sessions with Stoneback across New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco studios, Cults delivered Offering in October 2017, drawing from sources as diverse as Pink Floyd, Gary Numan, and the Motels, whose sound they had embraced while touring Australia with Total Control. They revisited that fascination in 2018 via a track-by-track recreation of the Motels’ 1979 self-titled debut for Turntable Kitchen’s Sounds Delicious series. The following year Offering B Sides & Remixes appeared, featuring reinterpretations by Mike Simonetti, Etienne de Crécy, and John Fryer.

Cults started work on their subsequent album in early 2019, again partnering with Stoneback on material that incorporated live instrumentation for the first time and carried lyrics penned by Follin. Mixed by John Congleton and mastered by Heba Kadry, Host arrived in September 2020 and addressed questions of identity and autonomy. Two years later Host B-Sides & Remixes surfaced with reworkings by Johnny Jewel, Tama Gucci, and Small Black. Also in 2022 the Static song “Always Forever” earned platinum certification in the U.S. and silver in the U.K., while “Gilded Lily” from Offering received gold status in the U.S. and silver in the U.K. in 2023. The next year “She Knows” was certified platinum in the U.K. around the release of “Crybaby,” the lead single from Cults’ fifth album. Once more teaming with Stoneback, Congleton, and Kadry, the band pursued a lean yet intense direction on July 2024’s To the Ghosts, citing Joe Meek, Kraftwerk, and the Crystals among its touchstones.