New York indie duo Cults appear to be firmly committed to the idea of a featuring two songs in a single music video. Last September, Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion released an alien-abduction themed music video scored by tracks “I Took Your Picture” and “With My Eyes Closed” to as part of the promotional cycle for their well-received third album Offering (2017). They recently released another double feature for “Right Words” and “Natural State”.
Follin embarks on a surreal trip once again, this time through an animated wonderland filled with copies of herself, luscious strawberries and ants. You will see more ants in this music video than in all other music videos combined. After returning to the regular world of Los Angeles, she turns into a flattened out, 2D-version that sways on the side of the streets.
On a sonic level, both tracks serve as examples of the album’s more optimistic, airy, bright, and shimmery synth-laden line aesthetic, which stands apart from their brooding back catalog of retro-leaning songs like “High Road” and “Abducted”. While still preoccupied with the push-and-pull forces of romance, the duo - who now work together as exes - have channeled their personal experiences into a dreamier and sunnier outlook. If you pay closer attention to their lyrics, however, you will discern a familiar strain of romantic fatalism: ‘Right words, but I said them at the wrong time/ Even with the right words/ Knowing I could never change your mind’.
