Cults is an American indie pop band formed in New York City in 2010. The band first rose to prominence upon releasing their debut extended play, ''Cults 7″'' (2010), on their Bandcamp page. They subsequently signed to English singer Lily Allen's record label

In the Name Of IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepe ...

, an imprint of Sony Music to release their eponymous debut album (2011). A song from the album, "Bad Things" was sampled by American rapper

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

for his 2013 single " She Knows", on which they were credited as featured artists.

History

Cults formed in 2010 while guitarist Brian Oblivion (real name Ryan Mattos) and singer Madeline Follin, both from San Diego, were students in New York City. Oblivion went to New York University to study documentary cinema, while Follin went to The New School. Follin had previously recorded with punk band

Youth Gone Mad Youth Gone Mad is an American punk rock band founded in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1980 by Paul Kostabi, Paul "ENA" Kostabi (also of White Zombie (band), White Zombie and Psychotica). Youth Gone Mad signed onto the Posh Boy Records ...

on the album ''

Touching Cloth ''Touching cloth'' is a studio album by the American punk band Youth Gone Mad. It includes songs written and performed with Dee Dee Ramone, formerly of the Ramones. The song "Guns" was originally written by Youth Gone Mad, but first recorded by ...

''. Cults released an EP on Forrest Family Records, ''Cults 7″'', with the track "Go Outside" recorded by

Paul Kostabi Paul Indrek Kostabi (also known as Ena; born October 1, 1962 in Whittier, California, United States) is an American artist, musician, record producer and audio engineer. He is the brother of artist Mark Kostabi. Kostabi was a founding member o ...

at Thunderdome Studios, and the album earned the title of "Best New Music" by '' Pitchfork''. They toured supporting the Richie Follin's Band with overlapping members for six months before signing to ITNO/Sony. Their song "Go Outside" had a video made for it which starred Emma Roberts and Dave Franco. Another video featured the band intercut with footage of Jim Jones and Jonestown. Their eponymous debut studio album was released on June 7, 2011, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

imprint

run by Lily Allen. The album received generally positive reviews, and a second "Best New Music" from Pitchfork was earned for the track "Abducted". In 2011, Cults collaborated with the group Superhuman Happiness on a version of the track "Um Canto De Afoxé para o Bloco Do Ilê" for the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's most recent charity album ''Red Hot+Rio 2''. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 '' Red Hot + Rio''. Proceeds from sales were donated toward causes raising awareness of AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. The band was chosen to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival curated by ATP and Portishead in September 2011 in

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188

, and also by Battles to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England. In early 2012, Cults played the Australasian music festival Laneways. In an interview with 3news they said people could expect a more "aggressive sound" with a lot of changes being made to songs as a five-piece band. In an interview with the magazine ''Coup De Main'', Follin was quoted saying that "You Know What I Mean" is her favorite song on their self-titled debut album. In 2013 they were featured alongside Amber Coffman on

's '' Born Sinner'' album which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. The song later peaked at number 90 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also in 2013, the band released their second album, '' Static'', in the aftermath of the duo's breakup. Reviews were generally favorable. In 2016, Follin collaborated with her brother

Richie James Follin Richie James Follin is an American musician, guitarist, keyboard player, singer songwriter who has been in a number of bands. In 2001, Follin formed and fronted The Willowz, a garage rock band based in Anaheim, California. The band's sound inc ...

for a side project called Follin. Their single "Roxy" was released online on February 23 of that year. On October 6, 2017, the band released their third album, ''

Offering Offering may refer to: In religion * A religious offering or sacrifice * Alms, voluntary gifts to others, especially poor people, as an act of virtue * Tithe, the tenth part of something, such as income, paid to a religious organization or gover ...

''. On September 18, 2020, the band released their fourth album, ''

Host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

''. On August 17, 2021, their single "Always Forever" was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) and later was certified platinum on July 18, 2022.

Band members

* Brian Oblivion – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion * Madeline Follin – vocals

Live members

* Cory Stier - drums * Max Kamins - bass guitar * Nathan Aguilar – bass guitar (past) * Marc Deriso – drums * Richie Follin – guitar (past) * Gabriel Rodriguez – aux, guitar (past) * Loren Humphrey - drums

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs and certified songs

Guest appearances

Production and songwriting credits

References

External links

*
Cults' MySpace Page

Cults' Bandcamp Page
*
Cults la pop, l'amour&les cheveux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cults 2010 establishments in New York City American dream pop musical groups American pop music duos American rock music duos Experimental pop groups Indie pop groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical duos from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from New York City Psychedelic pop music groups Synth rock groups Twee pop groups