They were suddenly in good company with other bands conjuring a similar sound, including Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls. The attention was promising enough to encourage Follin and Oblivion to drop out of film school a few months ago to pursue music full time.
“It happened pretty naturally. Madeline and I would sit around the house and a lot of the music we both liked was ’60s pop,’’ Oblivion says ahead of Cults’ headlining gig at Brighton Music Hall tomorrow night. “Thematically, we had a good idea of what we wanted to get across in the songs. Musically, it was a matter of making music that we both would want to hear.’’
They intentionally took their time to release more music, wanting to make sure they were truly committed to it. In a tell-tale sign of how much indie bands are part of the mainstream more than ever, Cults got signed to an imprint of Columbia Records, which released its debut earlier this week. It was a surprising development for a group with such humble origins, and already Oblivion has been defending Cults’ decision to be on a major label.
“Number one, they’re awesome. They only came to the studio once, listened to one song, and were like, ‘Sounds great.’ Then we handed in the record and they said, ‘Perfect.’ Nobody’s ever given us a hard time,’’ he says. “I don’t know what happened. Nobody used to care what label you were on. Then suddenly it became this cottage industry where you’re not a cool band unless you’re on a cool label.’’
If anything, having a major label behind them has given Oblivion and Follin a wide promotional reach they wouldn’t have had otherwise. The buzz has been loud enough that Oblivion admits he doesn’t even read the band’s press at this point. “My mom forwards me every single thing ever written about our band, and I just delete it before I open it,’’ he says.
