Cults Are Back with ‘i Can Hardly Make You Mine’ [stream]

Remember two summers ago, when that song “Go Outside” was everywhere? For me, the Cults and Best Coast albums were my summer soundtrack — I was really into the way both bands were able to hearken back to older pop but still maintain a modern edge to their sound. Since then, this brand of new vintage indie pop has taken off, but Cults seem to have disappeared. Not surprisingly, I was wondering when we’d get another “Go Outside”, and it seems as though my wish has finally come true with their new single “I Can Hardly Make You Mine”, released rather quietly earlier last week via a simple YouTube video.

“I Can Hardly Make You Mine” has a much fuller sound than what we’re used to from Cults, but the song still manages to showcase lead singer Madeline Follin’s dreamy vocals and guitarist Brian Oblivion’s hazy, crashing rhythms. Now, though, there are pianos, some kind of organ, harder percussion and a psychedelic production element that wasn’t there before, calling bands like Tame Impala or even Smith Westerns to mind. If “I Can Hardly Make You Mine” is any indication of what the rest of what Cults’ second album, Static, will sound like, you’ll find me happily tapping my feet all the way to the record store when it drops on October 15th.