Cults @ Emo's

Bathed in purple and blue swirls of fog, a small group of early-comers hangs on to a short railing a few feet from the stage, bobbing their heads to a playlist which seems to consist only of songs by The Cure. This is the first look I get as I duck into Emo’s, and it serves as an excellent precursor of what is to come: the melancholy-yet-cheery sound of Cults, who are to perform their first headlining show in Austin.

Preceding them are two opening acts, each playing a short half-hour-ish set. The first is Mood Rings, an Atlanta band who are incredibly adept at channeling the aforementioned 80’s legend, complete with acid wash jeans and lovesick ballads. However, while the band is definitely cemented within a shoegazey, pop aesthetic, they manage to craft such meticulous, polished songs that their latest album, VPI Harmony, sounds more like an innovative, forgotten cult-classic than a recent indie release. After the audience is thoroughly drenched in sculpted hooks and soaring harmonies, the band takes up station behind their merch booth, leaving the stage open for the next act -- a three-piece group called SACCO.



Driven by a heart-shaking bass, SACCO pounds out a few fuzzy songs, each built on a solid foundation of nearly-spoken lyrics, deep bass licks and repetitive, minimal drumlines. Periodically, this foundation gives way to screaming, distorted guitars and high-register vocals. SACCO’s set becomes hypnotic, and more than a few of the audience members around me seem to be unconsciously swaying from side to side, or stomping their feet.



However, shortly after SACCO takes their leave, the lights turn the stage into a misty, pastel-blue haze, and slowly, a vaguely familiar ambiance begins to build -- first as a simple, crawling synth, before suddenly popping into a high, looping riff. The flat, wall-mounted squares which had sat unused behind the stage for the duration of the opening sets are now filled with projected TV static as the band takes the stage as the opening sample of  “High Road” -- the first single off of their recent release, Static -- begins its metallic rhythm.

The projectors continually stream a series of blending images, mostly in black and white. Often, the mock-television boards default to white static or blurry lines before resolving into recognizable patterns or loops from black-and-white films as singer Madeline Follin leads into a particularly catchy chorus, or when Brian Oblivion’s guitar strikes a particularly resolving chord. 


Largely, the band plays songs from their latest album, only stopping to include their breakthrough hit, “Go Outside” and a couple other singles from their debut. Oblivion and Follin seem remarkably in sync: Follin’s guitar hooks and keyboard riffs mix perfectly with Follin’s catchy soprano, and the two share a few glances when they suddenly and simultaneously stop mid-song, baiting the crowd to make enough noise for them to continue. Perhaps in no small part to the end of their relationship, the duo’s cheery pop now seems to find itself set against dark basslines and deep recesses of fuzzy guitars, synth-driven ambience, press coverage obsessed with the duo’s breakup, and...static.