Terrascope reviews Cult With No Name - "Adrenalin"

January 2011

Cult With No Name are a London duo, Erik Stein and Jon Boux, whose brand of haunting melancholia now finds a home on their fourth album of electro-ballads, "Adrenalin." Opener 'This Time' is essentially piano and synth, with slightly drawled, half-sung vocals that reminded me a little of The Pet Shop Boys, albeit slower, darker and lower - there's a little Mercury Rev thrown in there too. Anyway, it's a unique voice that fits the material perfectly. Most of the tracks build slowly and are presented in reverb-heavy, albeit spare, mixes. 'Lies-all-lies-all-lies' is a highlight, reminding me again of Mercury Rev, while 'Youlogy' takes a strummed acoustic guitar and a cosmic synth to under pin the narcoleptic vocals. 'Gone,' with its conversational vocal and emotive piano part, is a particularly haunting track, while 'Breathing' has more than a hint of classic 'eighties electro style, with its PSB synth and rattling drum machine - another album highlight. '7' and '-7' pair off to perfection, helped by Catherine Morgan's spectral trumpet, while album closer 'Generation That's' patters off to a quiet, satisfying conclusion. "Adrenalin" is an enigmatic work of considerable beauty, and comes recommended for that alone. (www.cultwithnoname.com)

Adrenalin