When indie-pop band Cults released their debut EP, they were fairly unknown. Google searches only produced obscure definitions of groups with strange beliefs and practices.

The duo took advantage of Facebook and other social media sites to promote its music. After releasing its latest album on a pay-what-you-want basis, the band is coming to Syracuse University with its growing success.

Cults will headline Wednesday’s concert alongside The Vanderbuilts, a Syracuse-based indie folk-rock band, in the Schine Underground. Tickets are still for sale at the Schine Box Office for $5 with a valid student ID. Doors open at 7 p.m. with music starting at 8 p.m. University Union is putting on the show as part of its Bandersnatch Music Series.

Cults’ two bandmates, Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin, began making music together after they started dating. The group’s Bandcamp page is now the top result for a ‘Cults’ Google search.

‘Cults is a band we’ve been trying to bring here for a while,’ said Kenny Consor, co-executive director of UU Concerts. ‘And I think that they are a band that we’re going to be hearing a lot about in the next couple of years.’

Pitchfork awarded the duo’s most popular song, ‘Go Outside,’ with best new music honors in 2010. The hit track conjures up sunny images balanced with a sinister sense of humor. The song begins with quotes from Jonestown cult figurehead Jim Jones, who inspired the band’s namesake.

Despite its eerie introduction, the band’s self-titled debut album transitions smoothly into a work of frothy and meticulously designed lo-fi pop. The record, packed with nostalgic Motown influences, conveys a theme of emancipation from the status quo and finding beauty in some of the dirtier parts of society. Cults’ sound should translate well onto the Schine Underground’s stage.

Opening act The Vanderbuilts have tapped into the business of finding beauty in their music as well. The band comprises students from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Their debut full-length album, ‘Miguel’s Orchard,’ released Friday, Feb. 24, is driven by hauntingly sweet lyrics. Guitars, drums, banjos and keyboards lay out the structure of the songs while the fiddle adds texture to their melodies. Their newest album captures the essence of indie folk greats The Decemberists and The Head and the Heart.

Bringing Cults and The Vanderbuilts together will show how music is meant to be played in concert settings: with real instruments.

‘Both of these bands consist of such great musicians,’ Consor said. ‘When you get the hip-hop and the electronic music, it’s not real instruments, so this is going to be a pretty cool show.’

Consor said these two bands will boost an already dense Bandersnatch repertoire.

‘We’ve done an incredible job of bringing bands right as they’re on the cusp and about to break out,’ Consor said. ‘As that pattern continues, the name Bandersnatch Music Series continues to grow.’

jtinfant@syr.edu

Published on February 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Joe: jtinfant@syr.edu | @joeinfantino