Cults is an American indie pop band formed in New York City in 2010, comprising multi-instrumentalists Madeline Follin (born 1988) and Brian Oblivion (born 1989). 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). Their song "Bad Things" was sampled by American rapper J. Cole for his 2013 single "She Knows", on which they were credited as featured artists.
The band has since released another four albums: Static (2013), Offering (2017), Host (2020) and To the Ghosts (2024), as well as an EP, Motels (2018).
History Cults was formed in 2010 while guitarist Brian Oblivion and singer Madeline Follin, both from San Diego, were students in New York City. Oblivion went to New York University to study documentary cinema, while Follin went to The New School. Follin had previously recorded with punk band Youth Gone Mad on the album Touching Cloth. The name Cults was inspired by the Heaven's Gate cult from San Diego, California, where Follin and Oblivion grew up.
Cults released an EP on Forrest Family Records, Cults 7", with the track "Go Outside" recorded by Paul Kostabi at Thunderdome Studios, and the album earned the title of "Best New Music" by Pitchfork. They toured supporting The Richie Follin's Band with overlapping members for six months before signing to ITNO/Sony. Their song "Go Outside" had a music video which starred Emma Roberts and Dave Franco. Another music video for the song featured the band intercut with footage of Jim Jones and Jonestown.
Their eponymous debut studio album was released on June 7, 2011, by Columbia Records' imprint In the Name Of run by Lily Allen. The album received generally positive reviews, and a second "Best New Music" from Pitchfork was earned for the track "Abducted". The same year, Cults collaborated with the group Superhuman Happiness on a version of the track "Um Canto De Afoxé para o Bloco Do Ilê" for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charity album Red Hot+Rio 2. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 Red Hot + Rio. Proceeds from sales were donated toward causes raising awareness of AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. The band was chosen to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror festival curated by ATP and Portishead in September 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. They were also chosen by Battles to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England. In early 2012, Cults played the Australasian music festival Laneways. In an interview with 3news,Article is still available in the Newshub Archive, here. they said people could expect a more "aggressive sound" with a lot of changes being made to songs as a five-piece band. In an interview with the magazine Coup De Main, Follin was quoted saying that "You Know What I Mean" was her favorite song on their self-titled debut album.
In 2013, they were featured alongside Amber Coffman on J. Cole's Born Sinner album which peaked at number one on the Billboard 200. The song later peaked at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 15, 2013, the band released their second album, Static, in the aftermath of the duo's breakup, to generally favorable reviews. Cults supported both Pixies and Vampire Weekend on their respective North American tours in 2014.
In 2016, Follin collaborated with her brother Richie James Follin of rock band Guards on a side project called Follin. Their self-titled EP was released on April 15, 2016, which contains the songs "Memories" and "Roxy".
On October 6, 2017, the band released their third album, Offering. Their song "Gilded Lily", although not selected as a single for the album, became a huge success on social media platform TikTok in 2022.
On September 18, 2020, the band released their fourth album, Host. On August 17, 2021, their single "Always Forever" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and later was certified platinum on July 18, 2022. Their fifth album To the Ghosts was released on July 26, 2024. The deluxe edition came out a year later, on September 12, 2025, and contains four new songs : "Mark My Words", "Compaction", "Noises They Make" and "Tiffany".
Band members Brian Oblivion (Ryan Michael Mattos) – vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass guitar, percussion, production Madeline Follin McKenna – vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass guitar, drums, percussion, production
Current touring members John Eatherly – drums Max Kamins – bass guitar Cory Stier – drums Marc Deriso – drums Loren Humphrey – drums
Former touring members Nathan Aguilar – bass guitar Richie Follin – guitars Gabriel Rodriguez – guitars
Discography Albums + List of studio albums and with selected chart positions Title Details Peak chart positions USPeaks on the Billboard 200: Cults: Static: CAN LTUPeaks in Lithuania albums chart: Offering: UKPeaks on the UK albums chart: Cults: Cults Released: June 7, 2011 Label: Sony Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl 52 89 — 133 Static Released: October 15, 2013 Label: Sony Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl 114 — — — Offering Released: October 6, 2017 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl, cassette — — 61 — Motels Released: September 7, 2018 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Vinyl, digital download — — — — Host Released: September 18, 2020 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl — — — — To the Ghosts Released: July 26, 2024 Label: Imperial Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Extended plays + List of extended plays Title Year Offering B-Sides & Remixes Released: November 19, 2018 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming Host B-Sides & Remixes Released: September 9, 2022 Label: Sinderlyn Formats: Digital download, streaming
Singles
As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album UKSales "Um Canto De Afoxé Para O Bloco Do Ilê" 2011 — "Abducted" — Cults "Go Outside" 12 "You Know What I Mean" 63 "High Road" 2013 — Static "Being It" 2014 — "Offering" 2017 — Offering "I Took Your Picture" — "Right Words" — "Spit You Out" 2020 — Host "Trials" — "No Risk" — "Monolithic" — "Bourgeois" 2021 — "Beach Ball" — Cults (10th Anniversary Edition) "Make Time" — "Valentine" 2022 — "Poodles Dancing" — Host B-Sides & Remixes "Crybaby" 2024 — To the Ghosts "Left My Keys" — "Hung the Moon" — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
As featured artist +List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications AlbumUSPeaks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: For "She Knows": USR&B/HHPeaks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart: For "She Knows": USRapPeaks on the Hot Rap Songs chart: For "She Knows": LTU "She Knows": "Gilded Lily": SCOPeaks in Scotland: "She Knows": UK "She Knows": UKR&BPeak chart positions on UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart: For "She Knows": WWPeaks on the Billboard Global 200: For "She Knows": "Bowl Cut"(DoM featuring Madeline of Cults)2011 — — — — — — — — "She Knows"(J. Cole featuring Amber Coffman and Cults)2013 90 24 11 47 77 68 10 175 BPI: PlatinumBorn Sinner "Moonshine"(Chewing featuring Cults)2018 — — — — — — — —Pacific Ocean Blue "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Other charted songs and certified songs + List of other charted songs, showing year charted, selected chart positions, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album USBub. USRock CAN LTU NLDTip NZHot UKIndie "Always Forever" 2013 — — — — — — — RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold RMNZ: Platinum Static "Gilded Lily" 2017 12 14 81 49 16 35 9 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold MC: Platinum RMNZ: Platinum Offering "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Guest appearances +List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name Title Year Other artist(s) Album "Sail It Slow" 2010 Guards Guards
Production and songwriting credits Title(s) Year(s) Artist(s) Credit(s) "NDL Overture" 2021 CTI Producers & writers
Awards and nominations
Berlin Music Video Awards The Berlin Music Video Awards is an international festival that promotes music videos. +YearNominated workAwardResultRef.2025"Onions"Most BizarreNominated
References
External links
Cults' MySpace Page Cults' Bandcamp Page Cults la pop, l'amour & les cheveux