It has been a year since their EP, Go Outside, dropped amid a flurry of coverage from various music blogs. Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion comprise Cults and you will hear them both in most tracks. The latter half, Brian, provides the instrumentation. The precious few tracks were enough to perplex while making most people eagerly await more. They began experimenting with the unique mix of indie pop, lo-fi, and noise while attending New York University, and abruptly rose to prominence as their debut hit the markets.

The best way to understand the sound of their debut album is to imagine the delirium and chaos of a day that transforms into an excellent night at the pub. There are twists and turns, doubts and fear, but at the end of the day we’re glad to have left the comfort of home. Tracks alternate from a variety of influences, from the lo-fi scene of the early nineties—as well as some modern noise pop from influences such as the also-rising Smith Westerns—to an airy sound reminiscent of the pop melodies of the sixties. Overall the instrumentation remains mostly cohesive—no wild curve balls here, especially if you’re familiar with the EP, which tended to have a much more delightful “unpolished” sound. However, the album still remains a pretty solid statement, an interesting new sound for an interesting new band. It’s definitely worth the listen.