Cults – Il Motore – 19.06.11
Now fully formed with an officially released record, Cults, an indie-pop band from Manhattan is in the middle of garnering much critical acclaim, and I think that has to do with the subtle ways they play homage to mo-town jams, with bouts of Shangri-La verses, and… that your average indie pop fan (of this generation, at least) will fall almost immediately and blindly in love at the smallest hint of xylophone. Which is… yeah, pretty lame. Also, Childish Gambino thinks they’re cool, and that’s kind of a hipster-blogger seal of approval.
Sunday night’s show at Il Motore packs in a decent amount of members of said generation (not packed, but surprisingly decent given the amount of people I expected to opt for the much anticipated OFF! show that same night). A friend ensures me that first opener, Writer, was “actually really great” but he also shared the same enthusiasm for second opener Guards, who get a sheepish smile for effort, but a general yawn. Eventually Cults take the stage at a surprisingly decent hour, and out step vocalist Madeline Follin and guitarist-vocalist Brian Oblivion (What a great name). Follin has the face of a cute, crushable, indie chick, and the stage presence that aspires to be twice her size. Her vocals, however, live up to the critical acclaim surrounding the band’s work. Aided with the help of an unknown keyboardist and drummer, the stage is set with a group of humble, long-haired creatures.
Follin gyrates her hips back and forth, and croons at ex-lovers with the fierce revenge of pop music. This ferocity is best demonstrated in her defiant cries of, “I can’t sleep alone at night” in track “You Know What I Mean.” Most of the tracks do better in the comfort of a recorded production; but it is Follin’s strong live vocals that harden the generally soft songs. Oblivion and Follin comfortably work together sharing vocals on “Abducted.” The highlight of the evening for most was probably the track that most of the audience members based their attendance of the evening on. You know, the kids who downloaded “Go Outside” and decided that this was the band for them, only to show little to no enthusiasm when the band demonstrated their skills broadened beyond one single? Yeah, those kids were real thrilled to hear the chimes of xylophones that start that sampled jam. And I don’t blame them, but I’m even more of a sucker, so the real stand out track for me begins with the sexy riffs of “The Curse.” Though, the live rendition of “Go Outside” paid off in its climactic and distorted meltdown. Climactic being the operative word of this evening, and anti- being it’s critically acclaimed opener.
- Sruti I
