Since the first swells of hype, to the waves that have kept coming since, I have maintained a somewhat conflicted relationship with Cults. I probably should have purchased their Go Outside 7″ from Forest Family when it was first pressed, if only for the nostalgia. I didn’t quite subscribe to the hype at the time; the primary reason I didn’t being that I don’t particularly enjoy its title track. As it stands, “Go Outside” is still my least favorite track the band has produced to date. Plus that unofficial video from MTV was rather terrible.

These things played into my tepid expectations for the full length, despite the intrigue of listening to something new that was garnering widespread praise. What appeal the new record did have was enhanced knowing the band would be playing NxNE, and that I would likely be in attendance. All of the chatter surrounding the record, that they signed to a major label quickly, was never an issue as far as I was concerned, and to me, rebuke they received for doing so was naive.

The band played Friday evening at Lee’s Palace on a night they shared the stage with Dirty Beaches and Dum Dum Girls amongst others. In a live setting the immediate reaction is how integral Madeline Follin is to the band’s appeal. I swear I said this twenty times, likely much to the chagrin of Rich, Andy and Matt. But it’s true. She doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the outfit, but they wouldn’t have an ace without her vocals. The backing band is in flux, and while the songs have a lot to like, it’s Follin’s vocals that set things apart.

While the band’s live set was far from earth shattering, it was crisp and is clearly still being worked on. In fact I read an New York Magazine interview where Oblivion said as much. What it did do was give a new perspective on many of the songs I enjoyed from the record. Since the show, I’ve played the record in its entirety several times a day trying to recreate the sounds of the live show that are stuck in my head, and I’m quite smitten. Since the record is what I have to animate the distinct recollections of the show from my faulty beer-addled memory, it’ll certainly suffice.

(Photo from show courtesy of Sidewalk Hustle)

One of the bands I found myself most interested in seeing while in Toronto was Guards. Playing Saturday night at Lee’s Palace, which was the happening place this year at the festival, Guards preceded Wild Nothing and Twin Shadow on the very solid bill. Currently on tour with his sister’s act Cults, Richie Follin and company was just about to begin when Andy and I entered the building in anonymity, grabbed ourselves a Canadian hipsters beer apiece, and headed up to plant ourselves towards stage left. The crowd was sparse at that juncture, but during the band’s set it steadily filled to capacity. Two stragglers tardy to the party were Matt and Rich, who were late with good reason, as they were traveling from an interview they had conducted just prior. Andy and I had previously been checking out Hot Kid at the Bovine Sex Club, and hoofed it over to Lee’s just in time.

[mp3] Guards // Sail It Slow (ft. CULTS)

Once settled in position, the set comprised mostly of the seven track Guards EP from 2010. Each song received a warm bath of glossy live sheen that just isn’t possible to replicate within a studio. A truly gracious host, following each song came a string of polite niceties from Follin, thanking the crowd for their approval. The applause was well deserved specifically in the case of the fleshed out and lengthened favorite “Long Time,” and on “Sail It Slow,” which sounded impeccable and gave me something to better to associate it with than a shirtless MTV werewolf. And most certainly the strength of the live show was cemented with set closer “I See It Coming,” which anyone could truly have seen coming, as it is their strongest song to date and predictably shined live as well.

[mp3] Guards // I See It Coming

Unfortunately I don’t have any of my own pictures from the show because for one, I only had my phone. But mainly I have nothing other than a blurry and dark Instagram photo because I happen to be an awful photographer and all of my pictures come out the same: as if a one year old stole its parent’s camera and clicked and captured an image while running about, that happened only fortuitously to capture something that resembled a discernible object. It’s a gift. Therefore the image above is stolen from fellow show attendee, Kevin from Citizen Dick. I hope you like these recaps, because they’ll keep coming.