The tension between lead Singers and Lead Guitarists is as old as Rock ‘n’ Roll itself. Jagger/Richards, Tyler/Perry, Axel/Slash. but in the case of the Cult only the coldest heart would fail to feel sorry for Billy Duffy. His sparring and creative partner Ian Astbury almost takes pleasure in being rocks most awkward f**ker.
Swinging between embracing his bands legacy and dismissing it in his words as “ meat and potatoes” his vagrant disregard for his fan base and lack of respect to Duffy who is the underrated guitar hero of the rock world, makes it hard to love the Cult.
The loyalty shown to them hangs on the trilogy of albums
(Love, Electric, and Sonic Temple) the last released thirty-three years ago. In-between long periods of inactivity they have released a slew of albums. Some weak, some very good indeed. I will leave it to your personal taste to decide which is which.
In the live arena they have swung between blistering or piss poor depending on which version of Astbury turns up. Reports of their recent live shows have been positive with a slimmed down Astbury giving it some as opposed to phoning it in.
Which brings us to their new Album “Under A Midnight Sun”.
Starting an album with an epic ballad “Mirror” is a brave move but it sets the tone for the album as a whole. The Cult refuse to satisfy your expectations. This is a compliment.
The tone falls somewhere Love (minus the reverb drenched guitars) and Sonic Temple. No one really does epic like the Cult. “Outer Heaven” is a perfect example and could only find a home with these gentlemen. There isn’t a bad song here but there isn’t a standout either.
This is a band who hopefully have made peace with each other and in Astbury’s case his legacy. However, if your expectations are full tilt rock album then this is not the album for you.
Billy Duffy riffs are classic and Astbury is in fine voice, if not at full holler of the past. This is a more reflective Cult than the young firebrands that decamped to L.A. looking for fame and Fortune. The pace is leisurely and unfussy.
Do I love it? The jury’s still out. Will I spin it often? To be decided. I will say its either a very late Saturday night come down or a very early Sunday morning ease into the day album.
They play with total conviction and passion. It’s not just another veteran band banging out an album for the sake of it. It may be the best album they have made in decades but I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Its better than expected and this far in to their life that’s a good place to land
-Bobo Coen
