The last New York boy-girl duo of note – Sleigh Bells – released their album on MIA's label. Cults are a couple of film students, Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, originally from San Diego, who set the blogosphere a-quiver last year with their burnished twee-pop offerings. Their debut comes courtesy of Lily Allen's new label. American indie remains in the throes of a love affair with innocence, thanks to bands such as Best Coast and a slew of Brooklyn naïfs (led by Vivian Girls). Cults, though, have the best handle on the girl-pop of the 60s, as the lovely "You Know What I Mean" attests. Reverberating undercurrents and film samples, meanwhile, cut Follin's candyfloss vocals with a little wire.
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Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the Observer's pop critic. She has written for NME and occasionally crops up on Radio 4, 5Live, BBC 6Music, and has appeared on BBC2's The Culture Show and Newsnight Review. @kittyempire666
Kitty Empire
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