Ian Astbury talks the resurgence of goth, David Bowie’s legacy and The Cult’s “renaissance”

nme.com:

The Cult’s Ian Astbury has spoken to NME about the recent resurgence of goth in pop culture – which sees “women picking up the swords and leading the way” – as well as how the band are looking to challenge the perception of being “a heritage act”.The band’s ‘8424’ tour sees The Cult hit the road in celebration of their fourth decade together, and comes on the heels of their ‘8323’ Death Cult shows, which saw them revisit the first iteration of the band.“For the last 18 months we’ve been going hard at doing a health check on everything that we’re involved in creatively, whether it’s Death Cult, The Cult or stuff that I’m doing outside of the band.

We’re looking to repair some bridges and reconnect with real culture,” Astbury told us.“We want to run down the perception that we’re just some heritage band who’s phoning it in, or that we’re tired and our best days are behind us.

That kind of narrative implies we’ve lived in a rearview mirror.“We’re in a renaissance,” he added. “This set we have planned has been curated in a certain way.