Cult Following

Cult Following
Studio album by Little Scream
Released	May 6, 2016
Recorded	2014–15
Studio	Hotel de Ville, Hotel2Tango, Sonovox Studio, The Bridge, Studio MixArt, Spinning Plates
Genre	Indie rock, art rock, folk, pop
Length	44:05
Label	Merge Records, Dine Alone Records
Producer	Richard Reed Parry
Little Scream chronology
The Golden Record (2011) Cult Following (2016)
Singles from Cult Following
"Love As A Weapon" Released: February 10, 2016 "Someone Will Notice" Released: April 5, 2016 "The Kissing" Released: April 12, 2016 "Dark Dance" Released: April 19, 2016

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
American Songwriter	[3]
Exclaim	(8/10)[4]
Mojo	[5]
NOW Magazine	[6]
Pitchfork	(7.5/10)[7]

Cult Following is the second studio album by American-born, Montreal-based indie rock artist Little Scream. It was released on Merge Records (in the United States) and Dine Alone Records (in Canada) on May 6, 2016.

Background

Sprengelmeyer's own experiences influenced the direction of Cult Following as she "'grew up in a kind of Christian religious cult' as a Jehovah’s Witness" as well as her visit to a "cult-like group in Brazil". ^{[8] [9]} In an interview with Exclaim, Sprengelmeyer described her album as her attempt at making Purple Rain if it was "done by a Midwestern girl with more of a folk upbringing". Although unused on the final cut of the album, three of the songs were mixed by Prince's longtime collaborator, David Z. at Sunset Sound Recorders where Purple Rain was mixed.^[10]

On the song "Love as a Weapon", Sprengelmeyer says “I was thinking of classic pop songs, how a good one can lift you out of a fog like nothing else. This is a song of rebellious joy, for dancing and crying and starting over, again and again.”^[11]

Recording

The album features Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner (of The National), Owen Pallett, Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio), and Mary Margaret O'Hara.^[12] Many of the album's collaborations came about through friendships and previous collaborations. Regarding her collaboration with O'Hara, Sprengelmeyer remarked that she was the only person she "really reached out to as a fan".^[13]

Richard Reed Parry, of the band Arcade Fire, is credited as Little Scream's creative partner and helped with the music on the album.^[12]

Promotion

The first single, "Love as a Weapon," premiered on February 10, 2016 on Beats 1 Radio with Zane Lowe. The music video for the single premiered on March 22, 2016.^[11][12]

The song "Someone Will Notice" premiered on April 5, 2016.^[14] "The Kissing", featuring Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, was released as a third pre-release single on April 12, 2016.^[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Welcome to the Brain"	0:53
2.	"Love as a Weapon"	4:52
3.	"Dark Dance"	4:21
4.	"Introduction to Evan"	0:30
5.	"Evan"	5:02
6.	"Aftermath"	1:03
7.	"The Kissing"	4:45
8.	"Wishing Well"	5:45
9.	"Wreckage"	5:35
10.	"Someone Will Notice"	5:34
11.	"Silent Moon"	4:41
12.	"Goodbye Every Body"	1:04

Personnel

Musicians Andrew Barr - drums, vocals Brad Barr - guitar, vocals Thomas Bartlett - keyboards, piano Aaron Dessner - engineer, guitar, synthesizer, bass Bryce Dessner - guitar Jeremy Gara - drums Adam Kinner - saxophone Kyp Malone - vocals Mary Margaret O'Hara - vocals Sarah Pagé - harp Owen Pallett - string arrangements, violin Marcus Paquin - bass, composer, engineer, guitar, mixing, producer Richard Reed Parry - bass, upright bass, composer, drum machine, durms, engineer, guitar, keyboards, percussion, producer, string arrancements Andrew Peneycad - vocals Parker Shper - piano Laurel Sprengelmeyer - art direction, composer, guitar, noise, omnichord, piano, primary artist, synthesizer, vocals Lily Sprengelmeyer - composer, vocals, engineer, producer Sufjan Stevens - composer, synthesizer Sharon Van Etten - vocals Mark "Bucky" Wheaton - drums

Production Pietro Amato - engineer Philip Shaw Bova - mastering Hans Bernhard - engineer Howard Bilerman - engineer Dusdin Condren - cover photo Mikel Durlam - art direction, composer Maggie Fost - design Mark Lawson - engineer Joey Kramm - inside photo Rusty Santos - mixing Tim Vesely - engineer Jordy Walker - engineer David Z. - mixing

References

1. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
2. Deming, Mark (2016-05-05). "Cult Following - Little Scream". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
3. "Little Scream: Cult Following << American Songwriter". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
4. Rodgers, Ian (2016-05-05). "Little Scream Cult Following". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
5. [Jun 2016, p.97]
6. Clarke, Christine (2016-05-11). ">>> Little Scream - NOW Toronto Magazine". Nowtoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
7. Snapes, Laura (2016-05-10). "Little Scream: Cult Following - Pitchfork Media Album Review". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
8. Williams, Matt (5 May 2016). "MONTREAL'S LITTLE SCREAM MAKES SURREAL POP FOR THE OPTIMIST SOUL". Noisey. Noisey. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
9. Gaca, Anne (9 May 2016). "Q&A: Little Scream on the Cult That Inspired 'Cult Following'". Spin. Spin. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
10. Warner, Andrea (5 May 2016). "Little Scream on Her Prince-like Ambitions and How 'Cult Following' Is Her 'Purple Rain'". Exclaim. exclaim. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
11. "Little Scream premieres new single with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio". www.mergerecords.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
12. "Little Scream Enlists Sufjan Stevens, The National/Arcade Fire Members, Sharon Van Etten for Cult Following LP, Shares "Love as a Weapon" Video | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
13. "Little Scream: "This album feels like a pretty weighty monument to a two year period of my life…"". thelineofbest.com. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
14. "Little Scream – "Someone Will Notice"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
15. "Little Scream – "The Kissing" (Feat. Kyp Malone)". Stereogum. Retrieved 2016-04-14.