Cults – "Go Outside"

Here's the new video for "Go Outside", by the band Cults. The Cults record has been one of my favourites of the year. Some nice sunny melodies, with lovely echoey spacious production, and then a serious, unnerving undercurrent in some of the lyrics throughout. Some of the lyrics are actually quite menacing in the way they talk about power dynamics and sinister themes in such a naive, sunny way. They have also spliced in recording of speeches from actual cult members/leaders throughout the record, although not in a way that is invasive or jarring. it just slides into the mix, you might not even notice it. I think that's what i like about the record. You can just slip it on and listen to the sunny carefree melodies, or you can listen harder and discover the hidden darker themes. I like that.

In this clip, the two band members insert themselves into archival footage of the Jonestown cult. A friend emailed me this and wondered if I thought it was inappropriate to use footage from such a tragic incident in a music video. For the reasons I've stated above, I can understand why he might have thought this. It's just a sunny pop song! But when you take it in context of their other music, their subject material, and, well, their name, I think there's definitely artistic merit. And the video doesn't use any overly dramatic or sensational images. It's all quite tastefully done, and I think it culminates in a fantastic video.