Forward-Looking Nostalgia

"I Took Your Picture" - the second single from New York-via-California indie duo Cults' upcoming third album Offering (out on October 6 via Sinderlyn Records) - contains Brian Oblivion's favorite lyric from the album (he also claimed that the track is "as close as you get to a thesis statement for the album"): 'Tinge of blue/ To the end/ left our hearts/ With regrets/ I’m learning'. Staying in line with the retromania of recent pop culture (think of the popularity of vintage Instagram filters and the Pandora's box of retro stylings that Amy Winehouse ushered in), the band has opted to retain the music of the 1980s (specifically power-pop bands like the Motels and the Cars for this track) as a source of inspiration. Madeline Follin's high-pitched vocals, vintage synths and the track's hazy guitar effectively evoke the nostalgia she sings about: 'I took your picture/ I felt my heartbeat slow down/ It's hard to miss ya/ 'Cause you're the one thing moving in the background'. 

Like the album's title track, "I Took Your Picture" is bright, psychedelic and driven by momentum. Follin nevertheless warns (often barely audibly) of emotional stasis and the threat of regression: "It’s a song about fleeting moments and how we let past feelings interrupt the possibility for good things to happen" (). Given that the duo has managed to establish a more collaborative and equal relationship during the recording process - despite being exes - it appears that they have learned to overcome the counterproductive emotional inclinations that Follin warns of.