Cults have probably produced the most compelling buzz album cycle of 2k11, so every1 has been paying close attention to them 2 try to forecast their P4k score. It seems like Pitchfork 'played it safe', and slotted them in the standard 8.4-8.6 'first album' buzz range. The 8.4-8.6 Debut Score Range Theory claims that Pitchfork is trying to 'regulate buzz', making debut buzzbands earn scores instead of letting 'hype' inflate their score. They want to give a buzzband 'room to grow'; however, this theory also enables a buzzband to plateau on their sophomore album.

Most importantly, this album scored a full half-point than Tyler the Creator's GOBLIN, so this marks a HUGE win for white man's indie [link].

Did u listen to this album?
What did it deserve?
Did this album deserve higher than the Neon Indian debut 8.6? Way higher than the Best Coast debut at 8.4?

Really dug this intro hook. Used this technique when I wrote a paper about Paul Revere in 5th grade.

When Cults' "Go Outside" first appeared on the web last year, it spread like wildfire. It was catchy and sweet, the kind of sing-along that felt like it was pulled from the air, with a sentiment perfect for anyone stuck in an office or addicted to the Internet. But how many communal sing-alongs can a band make before the approach goes stale? Cults have opted not to find out.

'The British were coming and America was TOTALLY EFFED. What would life be like if they took over our United States of America? Paul Revere opted not to find out.' -Carles, 5th grade

The review seemed 'favorable', even though they called Madeline Follin a tween:

At the center of the band's appeal is singer Madeline Follin's youthful alto. She has a tone that creates the impression you're listening to a precocious tween fronting a band well versed in Phil Spector's Back to Mono and three decades of climactic indie pop.

Will precocious-tween-wave become the next relevant genre of indie?

For some reason, Cults 'get away with' writing 'simple lyrics', while Best Coast gets 'panned' and made fun of 4 being such a 'simple ass woman':

And if Follin's lyrics aren't necessarily deep-- "I can run away and leave you anytime/ Please don't tell me you know the plans for my life"-- she delivers them with relatable and affecting conviction.

Additionally, Cults have finally forced p4k to assert that 'teenage sentiments' have now become 'universal sentiments'. This line probably have a HUGE impact on the future of their lyrical analysis standards.

Even the eternally sunny "Go Outside" ends on the lyric, "I think I want to live my life and you're just in my way." These are teenage sentiments, the kind of things you feel dumb for saying and thinking once you've navigated into your mid-twenties, but they're also universal sentiments during that stage of life when you're trying to figure out what kind of person you're going to be.

Sorta feel like I am supposed to dance around alone in my room with my peen tucked between my legs [via a mangina], listening 2 Cults, thinking abt tween issues.

The last paragraph basically says, "We believe in this band. They are going to grow and mature. That's why didn't give them higher." They also keep hammering the whole tween gimmick into the ground by referencing 'bus rides 2 skewl.'

At just over a half hour, Cults feels like the perfect length-- just long enough for the bus ride to school (or to work). But more importantly, it executes what it sets out to do masterfully while allowing the group room to grow and mature. They've also set themselves up to take their sound and subject matter in any number of possible directions in the future, and that's a good position for a young band to find itself in. Cults built up a lot of goodwill last year on the strength of just three tracks; on their debut album, they've rewarded it.

Did Cults deserve this score? Higher? Panner?
Will Cults' legacy be tainted by such a poorly written review, or do bands usually overcome that?
R u a precocious tween on the inside [via universal sentiments]?
Do u think Best Coast is 'pissed' at Cults for getting away with writing 'simple lyrics' and being praised for it, or does Besty Coasty lack a conceptual edge because she writes abt cats and dank?
Is this the greatest fuzzy buzzy album of all time?
What is nxt for Cults' career?
R u tired of Cults?

Cults

Buzzband

Cults wrote a hit MP3 "Go Outside" and are looking to ride fuzzy buzzy pop waves in 2k11.

Lists: Californians, Brooklyn-based buzzbands, 2k11 buzzbands

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