Long before The Cult were the big rock behemoth they are today, they were the new waves’ big new heroes. “The Cult” was a shortened name from Death Cult, and Southern Death Cult before that. Frilly shirts and haircuts were new fashions that were a big thing at the time, and The Cult were in the middle of that even though the music was different.
Go West has that big new wave sound with odd drum beats and jangly guitars. Spiritwalker upped that vibe by 10. A killer tune, great vocals, and I love the guitar sound. 83rd Dream has a huge goth vibe to the intro, and the whole song is very post punk. Butterflies is an epic moody tune with a killer vocal from Ian Astbury. Bad Medicine Waltz closes out Side 1 with a very blues based tune. Including a slow picked guitar and pedestrian beat.
Horse Nation is a song from the Death Cult phase, and it opens up side 2. It’s the oldest track on the album. You get a glimpse into the future with this song as that big rock groove is developing. A Flower In The Desert follows with the big jangly guitar goth vibes at the front just below Astbury’s vocal. Dreamtime is up next. I love the guitar sound and groove. A very simple hook and chorus. Rider In The Snow is my favourite track on the record. Love the vocal, and when the song breaks into the hook and chorus it gets me every time. The album close out with Gimmick and the intro feels like a spaghetti western. There are also parts of this song that are very Prog. I like this album a lot and it’s cool to see how much they have changed.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
