| Static | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 15, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2012–2013, SMT Studios, Treefort Studios, Maze Studios (Atlanta) | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, pop | |||
| Length | 34:56 | |||
| Label | Columbia Records | |||
| Producer | Cults, Shane Stoneback, Ben H. Allen III | |||
| Cults chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Static | ||||
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Static is the second studio album by American indie pop band Cults, released by Columbia Records on October 15, 2013. [1]
Of the album's title, band member Brian Oblivion said, "There's a feeling our generation has. The feeling there's always something better around the corner, that everyone is born to be a star. The feeling that life is waiting for you, and yet it’s not happening. All of that is static." [2] Oblivion has also said, "I've fallen in love with the idea of static over the last year...When we were making this record, we put a couple of broken TVs on the mixing board and we'd turn the lights off, stare at them, and listen to the songs to see if the glow felt right." [3]
Much of the discussion of the album was centered on the personal break-up of band members Madeline and Brian. Robert Ham of Paste wrote, "Fortunately or unfortunately for Cults, the release of [Static] is going to be clouded with the news that the couple behind the music—singer/lyricist Madeline Follin and guitarist Brian Oblivion—split up last year." [4] He also wrote, "What will hopefully rise to the surface for those folks picking through these songs is how strong the music is here." [4] Heather Fares of AllMusic wrote, "...breakups often provide plenty of songwriting fodder. Writing and performing songs with an ex, as Cults did on their second album, Static, is probably a special circle of hell, but when the results are this good, it's worth it." [1] She continued to say, "The album's imagery hints at Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion's breakup...and yet their music is stronger than ever, balancing the elements they set forth on their debut with fewer gimmicks and more complexity." [1]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.9/10 [5] |
| Metacritic | 73/100 [6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Under the Radar |    [7] |
| Consequence of Sound |  [8] |
| Spin | 7/10 [9] |
| Pitchfork | 6.8/10 [10] |
| Sputnikmusic | 3/5 [11] |
| Paste | 7.8/10 [4] |
| Slant Magazine | [12] |
| This Is Fake DIY | [13] |
| Boston Globe | 80/100 [14] |
Static received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 73 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews," based on 26 reviews. [6] On AnyDecentMusic?, the album received an average score of 6.9 out of 10. [5]
Music and lyrics by Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion
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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. 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.
Cults is the debut album by American indie pop band Cults. The album was released in the US on June 7, 2011 on In the Name Of, an imprint of Columbia Records. The album was recorded over the course of 2010 and early 2011. In early 2010, the band released an EP, which featured two of the songs to appear on the album; "Go Outside" and "Most Wanted". The song "Go Outside" was featured on the soundtrack of the game MLB 11: The Show on PlayStation 3. The song "Bad Things" also appears in the Hulu true crime drama series The Act during the end credits of the third episode "Two Wolverines" and the first episode of I Am Not Okay With This. It was sampled on the track "She Knows" by rapper J. Cole from the album Born Sinner. The song "You Know What I Mean" appears in episode 6 of Amy Poehler's show Russian Doll on Netflix.
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