Album publication - Girlish-ghostly Indie: "To The Ghosts" by Cults
Dirty Socks and a Ball Gown, a green spotlight full of smoke and otherwise just black: This is how Madeline Follin appears on the cover of the new Cults album. Appropriately for the girlish-ethereal atmosphere, the fifth studio album of the duo is called "To The Ghosts". Fans can look forward to the characteristic mix of dark-dreamy Indie and Follin's clear voice musically.
Whoever listens to the music of Follins and Brian Oblivion will immediately see couples swaying on the dance floor, friends driving in a cabriolet through warm August nights, and teenagers secretly snipping their cigarette butts. No wonder that the music of Cults served as a soundscape for films like "The Sitter". The duo is also represented on the official Spotify playlist "end credits" (German: "End Credits") alongside artists like Mitski and Suki Waterhouse.
"Emotions we want to feel"
"Unconsciously, we have spent our entire career building our own world," Oblivion says in an interview about the new album. "We just try to create the emotion we want to feel." The first ideas for "To The Ghosts" came during the pandemic. They worked every day from 10 to 17 hours in Oblivion's apartment on their music without setting a concrete deadline.
This time, however, they did something differently than before. Instead of experimenting with songs for months before the vocals were added, they put the vocals in the foreground this time.
"This is the first album where I picked up the microphone and just sang what I felt," Follin recalls. "The vocals and the lyrics really influenced the direction, not the other way around."
Growing Up and Onion Chopping
"Left My Keys" is roughly a love letter to the carefree days of high school. "It's about growing up and feeling left behind," Follin says. At the end, however, one realizes that one can be content with what one has. "It's liberating to let go of that feeling." The 5.30-minute long "Hung The Moon", which was already released as a single beforehand, also deals with growing up.
Particularly noteworthy is the song "Onions", in which Follin sings: "I chop onions, then I cry. Funny, that no one asks why. We've been eating things that can hurt us for a long time." Oblivion comments that they have discovered that it doesn't always have to be serious. "It's the peak of Madeline taking the microphone and singing whatever is going through her head," he says.
The lyrics are accompanied by swirling soundscapes of choirs, synthesizers, and pronounced bass. The songs unfold layer by layer with new arrangements and harmonies. The melodies stick to the brain like glue and remain there quickly, as with the single release "Cry Baby" or "Knots".
Live, the songs can be heard at the upcoming tour, which the band is bringing to Germany for two concerts: on November 12 in Cologne and on November 13 in Berlin. And who knows: Maybe Madeline Follin will even perform in a Ball Gown with dirty Socks, standing in a green spotlight that is slowly filled with fog from the fog machine.
The Cults' new album, "To The Ghosts," is now available on Spotify's official "End Credits" playlist, joining renowned artists like Mitski and Suki Waterhouse. Despite the pandemic, the duo, led by Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, meticulously worked on this album, with vocals being prioritized for the first time. Follin reflects on the song "Left My Keys," a love letter to high school days, saying it's about growing up and finding contentment.
The album also features the single "Onions," where Follin casually sings about chopping onions and the unexpected emotions they stir. This lighthearted track is a testament to the duo's exploration of less serious themes, displaying Follin's creative freedom with her lyrics. Fans in the United States of America and Germany can catch the band performing these new songs live at their upcoming concerts.
