Cults at Johnny Brenda's
The Brooklyn duo of Madeline Follin and Brian O'Blivion – good name, that – first got attention with a three song EP early in 2010. So it's taken an eternity in Internet time for the band's self-titled debut (***), which is the first release on Lily Allen's In The Name Of label, which is a partnership with Sony Music. So what's the buzz about? For starters, it was the single "Go Outside,' which cleverly upped the intriguing factor of a super-catchy Supremes-flavored girl-group throwback song by dressing it up with the sampled voice of People's Temple doomsday cult leader Jim Jones. The rest of Cults isn't quite so entrancing, but it's easy to be smitten with Follin's lovelorn teenage dreamer vocals as she and O'Blivion update '60s pop truisms that are still pretty difficult to resist, nearly half a century later. Cults comes out on iTunes and elsewhere today, and Cults play Johnny Brenda's tonight. A stream of the album in its entirety can be heard on NPR Music here, and below, you'll find a 'supervideo' for "Go Outside," starring James Franco's younger brother and Julia Roberts' niece.
Previously: Watch What You're Doing Wiith That iPad, Please Follow In The Mix on Twitter here.