Cults - Host

‘Host’ is an album packed simultaneously with realisation and acceptance, tipping between the mysterious Cults we have grown to love and a more transparent approach of self expression. Opener ‘Trials’ tethers with a previously-unheard melancholy from the NYC duo, composed of ethereal string melodies and Superfood-esque synths depicting the newfound discovery of loving someone who isn’t quite themself. ‘A Low’ talks of bittersweet self reconstruction, lyrics “Frightened of being / Falling to pieces / Stitched together” are painfully relatable to the point of either glancing over or spending the next hour thinking through your whole life, while ‘A Purgatory’ is the perfect sonic representation of trying to hold a smile together. Notably, the record is without the pair’s usual darkness, but ‘Host’ feels organic and true, like the first day of spring after a winter full of rain.