On Robbers & Cowards, Cold War Kids seemed to hit the right mix of rattling rock and atmospheric ballads, and their energy and hooky songwriting overpowered their debt to influences like the Walkmen, the White Stripes, and Spoon. The band doesn't replicate that feat on Loyalty to Loyalty: too many of the rockers start out brash and end up dull, like "Something Is Not Right with Me," which has a great strut that unfortunately doesn't develop into much else. On "Every Valley Is Not a Lake," Nathan Willett's vocals are unfettered to the point of grating, and only emphasize that the band's melodies aren't as strong on this album as they were on Robbers & Cowards. The same problems plague Loyalty to Loyalty's slower songs, such as "Avalanche in B," which drags painfully, and "Cryptomnesia," which closes the album with an unsatisfying meander. Even the band's writerly lyrics often feel overworked instead of clever -- lines like "Against Privacy"'s "We will talk about the pope and Prada shoes/No one gets upset" just feel contrived. To be fair, the album isn't a total disaster and improves as it goes along (excepting that unfortunate final track). "Mexican Dogs" stomps, then soars; "I've Seen Enough" blends the band's drive and poetic aspirations with flair; and "Every Man I Fall For" is an accomplished torch song begging for a songstress like Chan Marshall, Beth Ditto, or Beth Gibbons to sing it. Cold War Kids' storytelling skills are at their sharpest on "Golden Gate Jumpers," an oddly whimsical sketch of attempted suicide, and the rat race lament "Welcome to the Occupation," where lyrics like "They don't want poets, they want pigeons on a stool" don't feel pretentious. The band also moves in some different directions with equally mixed results: "Dreams Old Men Dream" has a soaring melody with a Latin twist, and "Relief"'s fuzz bass and falsetto sound like nothing else in Cold War Kids' songbook. On the other hand, "On the Night My Love Broke Through"'s sultry passages and wild piano tangents sounds better in theory than in practice. Cold War Kids deserve credit for their ambitions, but there's a fine line between trying hard and trying too hard. More often than not, Loyalty to Loyalty takes a disappointing stumble on it.
Cold War Kids' newest LP Loyalty To Loyalty (out on Downtown Records) took me by surprise with it's aggressive political undertones. What happened to the laid back soulful grooves that I remember and love? I guess the years of this frustrating political state have taken a toll on all of us and Cold War Kids [...]
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The Cold War Kids released their second album on September 23rd, 2008-- What a let down. Waiting for this album to come out was like being a kid again, with a two year long Christmas eve. The wait was not worth it, it was less than worth it, I'm pretty sure I died a little bit inside.... am I being too harsh?The clean, new soulful sound they brought to the table with "Robbers & Cowards" has al...
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I was first introduced to Cold War Kids as they opened for Muse, in arguably one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. They had a solid show, used a ton of shakers and sounded pretty good. It was good enough to check them out afterwards in which I proceeded to hear Robbers and Cowards. [...]
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The bluesy Californian quartet are back with their long awaited album, which promises ample mounts of wailing and a dash of blues soaked misery. But was it worth the wait?
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Cold War Kids' newest LP Loyalty To Loyalty (out on Downtown Records) took me by surprise with it's aggressive political undertones. What happened to the laid back soulful grooves that I remember and love? I guess the years of this frustrating political state have taken a toll on all of us and Cold War Kids [...]
More >
I was just gonna post this in the sidebar. Then I went and played with it for a while. (What day is it?) A lot of bands have been experimenting with interactive videos, but Cold War Kids just took things to a whole new level. Definitely check it out and have some fun. Makes me wonder about the future of music videos.If you come up with any masterpiece combinations, put them in the comment box!C...
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Cold War Kids are sharing the entire documentary behind the creation of their album Loyalty to Loyalty on Youtube right now. I've got to bolt for lunch with my dad, but it's nice to know this will be waiting for me when I get home from work.
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The Cold War Kids released their second album on September 23rd, 2008-- What a let down. Waiting for this album to come out was like being a kid again, with a two year long Christmas eve. The wait was not worth it, it was less than worth it, I'm pretty sure I died a little bit inside.... am I being too harsh?The clean, new soulful sound they brought to the table with "Robbers & Cowards" has al...
More >
On a trip through Eastern Europe Matt Aveiro, Matt Maust, Jonnie Russell, and Nathan Willett came up with a name for their band, Cold War Kids. Influenced by Bob Dylan and Velvet Underground they make insightful, raw indie-rock like that of The Decemberists, The White Stripes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.Passionate performances and enthusiasm from the bloggers scene created a big hype around th...
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The bluesy Californian quartet are back with their long awaited album, which promises ample mounts of wailing and a dash of blues soaked misery. But was it worth the wait?
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What happened to these poor guys? Of all the 2005-2006 "blog bands", Cold War Kids seemed poised to ascend to higher mainstream levels of success, but their sophomore album, Loyalty To Loyalty , may be the snoozer of 2008. It's good to be a sleeper, not a snoozer. But, not everyone may think that, and in case you don't, you may enjoy their recent MySpace Transmissions Session . Watch ...
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Here's the video/mp3 for "I've Seen Enough" from Cold War Kids' Loyalty to Loyalty. Thanks to Pasta Primavera.Cold War Kids - I've Seen EnoughPigeonsandPlanes
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--- - Cold War Kids' debut album "Robbers & Cowards" made you swoon! Check out a few tracks from their upcoming release, "Loyalty To Loyalty" out Tuesday, September 23 on Downtown. You can buy the first single, "Something Is Not Right With Me" via Amazon or iTunes. Drive A Faster Car stamp of ...- Cold War Kids
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but not heard enough. Was just listening to these banditos over the weekend on my way to the Oregon Coast, now a new video to complete the experience. Enjoyed their last tour and stop in Portlandia.
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Here is the entire video documenting the making of the Cold War Kids' Loyalty to Loyalty . For some reason, they decided to put it up on Youtube. If you're a Cold War Kids fan and you have 34 minutes and 3 seconds, check it out. I'll probably watch it later tonight. Thanks to You Ain't No Picasso for posting.PigeonsandPlanes
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The Cold War Kids rolled into Portland for a show last night and I was able to catch them at the local record shop for a few songs and photo and signing afterwards. I liked the song on this video a lot. My favorite of their new Loyalty to Loyalty is still, "Sometings is not Right with Me" for obvious reasons.. but I am looking at a few close seconds off this new album. Nathan's voice really is ...
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One of the freshest acts of the last few years has been Cold War Kids. Like The Decemberists, Dresden Dolls, and a handful of other acts, the band mixes elements and styles of decades long past (musically, thematically, and visually) with contemporary pop and indie music.Their new album Loyalty to Loyalty will be released in late September. You can sample a new track, Something is Not Right Wit...
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Cold War Kids newest video is for the track I've Seen Enough taken from their 2008 sophomore record Loyalty To Loyalty and lets just say it is by no means your ordinary video. Seeing as everything else in this day and age needs to be as new and as interactive as possible, it would seem that so too do music video's and whilst that sounds really rather lame initially, you really do need to see ho...
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I was first introduced to Cold War Kids as they opened for Muse, in arguably one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. They had a solid show, used a ton of shakers and sounded pretty good. It was good enough to check them out afterwards in which I proceeded to hear Robbers and Cowards. [...]
More >
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