Cults (band)

For the similarly named British hard rock band, see The Cult.

Cults is an American indie pop band formed in New York City in 2010. The band first rose to prominence after the release of their debut extended play, Cults 7″ (2010), which was released on their Bandcamp page.^[9] They signed with English singer Lily Allen's record label In the Name Of, an imprint of Sony Music to release their eponymous debut studio album (2011). A song from the album, "Bad Things" was sampled by American rapper J. Cole for his 2013 single, "She Knows", on which they were credited as featured artists.^[10]

Cults
Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion performing in 2014
Background information
Origin	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Genres	Indie pop[1] indie rock[2] dream pop[3][4] synth-rock[4][5] twee pop[6] experimental pop[7] psychedelic pop[8]
Years active	2010–present
Labels	In the Name Of Columbia Sinderlyn Imperial
Members	Brian Oblivion Madeline Follin
Website	cultscultscults.com

History

Cults formed in 2010 while guitarist Brian Oblivion and singer Madeline Follin, both from San Diego, were students in New York City.^[11] Oblivion went to New York University to study documentary cinema, while Follin went to The New School.^[9] Follin had previously recorded with punk band Youth Gone Mad on the album Touching Cloth. Cults released an EP on Forrest Family Records, Cults 7″, with the track "Go Outside" recorded by Paul Kostabi at Thunderdome Studios,^[12] and the album earned the title of "Best New Music" by Pitchfork.^[13] 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.^[14]

Follin (left) and Oblivion (right) performing in Munich in 2014

Their eponymous debut studio album was released on June 7, 2011, by Columbia Records imprint In the Name Of run by Lily Allen.^[15] The album received generally positive reviews,^[16][17] and a second "Best New Music" from Pitchfork was earned for the track "Abducted".^[18] 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'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,^[19] and also by Battles to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.^[20]

In early 2012, Cults played the Australasian music festival Laneways. In an interview with 3news^[21] 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,^[22] 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 J. Cole'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 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. On September 18, 2020, the band released their fourth album, Host.^[23] On August 17, 2021, their single "Always Forever" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and later was certified platinum on July 18, 2022.^[24]

Band members

• Brian Oblivion
• Madeline Follin

Live members

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

Discography

Albums

List of studio albums and with selected chart positions

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US [25]	CAN	LTU [26]	UK [27]
Cults	Released: May 23, 2011 Label: Sony Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl	52	89	—	133
Static	Released: October 15, 2013 Label: Sony Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl	114	—	—	—
Offering	Released: October 6, 2017 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl, cassette	—	—	61	—
Motels	Released: September 7, 2018 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Vinyl, digital download	—	—	—	—
Host	Released: September 18, 2020 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl	—	—	—	—
To the Ghosts	Released: July 26, 2024 Label: Imperial Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

List of extended plays

Title	Year
Offering B-Sides & Remixes	Released: November 19, 2018 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming
Host B-Sides & Remixes	Released: September 9, 2022 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		UK Sales [28]
"Um Canto De Afoxé Para O Bloco Do Ilê" (with Superhuman Happiness)	2011	—	Non-album single
"Abducted"		—	Cults
"Go Outside"		12
"You Know What I Mean"		63
"High Road"	2013	—	Static
"Being It"	2014	—	Non-album single
"Offering"	2017	—	Offering
"I Took Your Picture"		—
"Right Words"		—
"Spit You Out"	2020	—	Host
"Trials"		—
"No Risk"		—
"Monolithic"		—
"Bourgeois"	2021	—	Non-album single
"Beach Ball"		—	Cults (10th Anniversary Edition)
"Make Time"		—
"Valentine"	2022	—
"Poodles Dancing"		—	Host B-Sides & Remixes
"Crybaby"	2024	—	To the Ghosts
"Left My Keys"		—
"Hung the Moon"		—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Year	Peak chart positions								Certifications	Album
		US [29]	US R&B /HH [30]	US Rap [31]	LTU [32]	SCO [33]	UK [34]	UK R&B [35]	WW [36]
"Bowl Cut" (DoM featuring Madeline of Cults)	2011	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album single
"She Knows" (J. Cole featuring Amber Coffman and Cults)	2013	90	24	11	47	77	68	10	175	BPI: Platinum[37]	Born Sinner
"Moonshine" (Chewing featuring Cults)	2018	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Pacific Ocean Blue
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs and certified songs

List of other charted songs, showing year charted, selected chart positions, and name of the album

Title	Year	Peak chart positions							Certifications	Album
		US Bub. [38]	US Rock [39]	CAN [40]	LTU [32]	NLD Tip [41]	NZ Hot [42]	UK Indie [43]
"Always Forever"	2013	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RIAA: Platinum[44] BPI: Silver[37] RMNZ: Platinum[45]	Static
"Gilded Lily"	2017	12	14	81	49	16	35	9	RIAA: Gold[44] BPI: Silver[37] MC: Platinum[46] RMNZ: Gold[45]	Offering
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Sail It Slow"	2010	Guards	Guards

Production and songwriting credits

Title(s)	Year(s)	Artist(s)	Credit(s)
"NDL Overture" (featuring Niko Omilana & Miles Away)	2021	CTI	Producers & Writers