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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The fifth full-length release for the New York duo was produced by Shane Stoneback.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Sep 18, 2020
    80
    Musically dense and emotionally candid, the risks Cults take on Host make it a grower that embellishes on their strengths with flair.
  2. 80
    Tinny edges became velvet borders, vintage synths took on new wave flavours and plush theatricality beckoned. ‘Host’, however, marks their emergence from their pupae stage.
  3. Sep 24, 2020
    75
    Although Host is immediately captivating, thanks to the animated arrangements, it must be listened to multiple times to absorb and appreciate its diverse nature and expanded scope.
  4. Sep 17, 2020
    70
    Producer Shane Stoneback resumes his role as the unofficial third member of the group, ensuring that Host, in spite of its dabbling in live instrumentation, springs from the same atmospheric vein as previous Cults albums.
  5. Sep 22, 2020
    68
    Host proves the duo can reinvent themselves within a static framework; by revisiting the sounds of their ambitious, albeit thinly produced debut with bigger and bolder instrumentation, they’ve emerged from the afterglow of 2010s virality as a more robust and rooted ensemble.
  6. Sep 17, 2020
    61
    Host is a consistent record in its drive towards freedom, and both sound and lyrics embody that. At times this really allows them soar, and at others there’s the struggle to go it alone. It’s great to see Cults taking risks and pressing forward, but more than anything it makes you long for their past.
  7. Sep 17, 2020
    60
    Notably, the record is without the pair’s usual darkness, but ‘Host’ feels organic and true, like the first day of spring after a winter full of rain.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of