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Scala, London
If the indie blogs are right, Cults are destined for big things, but the turnout at their first major London show suggests those things are still some way off. The Scala was not full, due perhaps to the fact that lo-fi, boy-girl duos no longer seem very novel (see also: the Kills, Summer Camp). Still, even if they have arrived late, Cults have still brought something charming.
Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion have only been together, as couple and band, for a year, and the New Yorkers' music has a freshly minted sweetness. They are hardly the first US indiemongers to be in thrall to 1960s girl-pop, but their take on it has all the unfeigned romance of the originals. Backed by drums, bass and a busy sideman who goes from guitar to keyboard to glockenspiel, they create joyous confections with Follin's pining voice as the centrepiece. It could be taken as pure homage but for Oblivion's rattly guitar interventions, which add a shot of grimy modernity.
Some songs, such as The Curse, are simply about relationships gone bad; the vulnerable catch in Follin's voice is a remarkable contrast to her face, which retains a Meg Whiteish impassiveness. Other songs are ambiguous: Go Outside begins with a taped snippet from cult leader Jim Jones ("To me, death is not a fearful thing") before heading into glockenspiel-tinkling sunniness.
The "cult" theme is developed further by Oblivion and the bass player, who have waterfalls of long dark hair over white suits. They play most of their self-titled debut, out next week, and 40 minutes later it's over. There's no encore – why break such a sweet spell?
