Cults - Static

Recorded shortly after the romantic break-up of Cults duo Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, Static is a beguiling chronicle of heartache, separation and new beginnings. Or at least it is if you delve beneath the surface. At cursory inspection little seems changed in the pairs’ world: Follin’s vocals remain just the right side of wispily twee, while Oblivion’s Spector-esque wall of indie-schmindie locates the music in a grey space between The Jesus and Mary Chain and early 2000s tweecore labels such as Kindercore and Teenbeat.
Musically, then, this is a story of incremental progress. It’s less formally rocking than Cults’ 2011 debut, with a greater emphasis on minor chords and glimmering keyboards. Lyrically, though, everything is full on. “Every day away/ The distance slowly grows/ Further and further/ So close to letting go,” Follin sings, the exquisiteness of the melody in bittersweet contradistinction to the heart-rending sentiments she’s expressing. There’s a long, hoary history of break-ups inspiring torrid music, but Static takes precisely the opposite approach to most. It’s the anti-Rumours, a record that declaims accusation and anger and instead floats along on a featherbed of sadness and regret. It’s slight but deeply affecting too.

Key Track: 'Always Forever'