Cold War Kids’ 2006 debut, Robbers & Cowards (Downtown), was something of a game changer for indie music. Singer Nathan Willett’s coarse vocals and erratic piano drove the Long Beach quartet’s fusion of soul and indie rock, an unusual combination of genres that few bands had successfully pulled off. Though the album wasn’t perfect, it showed enormous potential. Standouts like the jazzy “Hospital Beds” and “We Used to Vacation” displayed Cold War Kids’ impressive musical chops and mournful stories about life in the hospital and childhood with an alcoholic father, respectively. Robbers & Cowards’ filthiest track, “Hang Me Up To Dry,” characterized the band’s intrinsic grit as Willett sings about “splashing around / in the muck and the mire” over an irresistible bass/drum groove and a chorus of, “Now hang me up to dry / you wrung me out / too, too, too many times” that you can’t help but sing along with.
Their 2008 follow-up, Loyalty to Loyalty (Downtown), expanded upon the soul-rock formula with another imperfect, but striking, collection of songs that included the manic “Something Is Not Right With Me,” soulful “Every Valley Is Not A Lake,” and beautifully depressing “Golden Gate Jumpers.” With a solid foundation laid on their first two albums, Cold War Kids seemed like a band that would only get better with age. If only…
Cold War Kids’ third studio album, Mine Is Yours (Downtown), trades in “the muck and the mire” that distinguished the band’s earlier career for overproduced, sonic pop in the same vein as Coldplay and Kings of Leon. You can feel the mainstream meddling of producer Jacquire King (responsible for Kings of Leon’s recent studio disappointments) on every track, content to bury Cold War Kids’ soul in Top 40 appeal.
The title track, “Mine Is Yours,” begins with a wailing “Woah-oh!” reminiscent of Disney’s The Lion King and sets up an easily forgettable and overly-sentimental pop track. Willett’s vocals hold-up, but the rest of the band’s musical dexterity gets lost in the mediocre songwriting. “Louder Than Ever” attempts to restore the band’s former bravado with a catchy chorus of: “But I can hear you louder than ever / whisper to me, help me remember / I can’t see you, but we’re still together / Now I can hear you louder than ever” – lines bound for the radio.
Guitarist Jonnie Russell, bassist Matt Maust and drummer Matt Aveiro establish a funky intro complete with jazz-club bongos on “Royal Blue,” but the initial groove is lost in Willett’s lackluster vocals. The vocals and melodies of “Skip The Charades’” have Chris Martin written all over them, and the ambient guitar squeaks recall Kings of Leon’s Only By The Night (RCA).
Mine Is Yours isn’t all bad news, though. “Sensitive Kid” is by far one of Cold War Kids’ quirkiest songs, beginning with a walking, electronic bass line and detuned guitar twangs. Willett sings about the transformation of a shy, sensitive boy into a hardened adult with lyrics: “I know you were born with a heart of gold / but, I want a purple heart that can’t be sold.” And despite “Bulldozer’s” tired love story, the drum buildup and echoing guitars are solid instrumental pieces.
Like so many piano-based bands before them, Cold War Kids have gone the way of sappy, commercial viability. Willett’s vocal talents aren’t enough to save an album rife with unimpressive songwriting and forgettable melodies. Mine Is Yours is poised to launch Willett and company into the echelon of too-big-to-fail pop-rock acts. The attitude, raw soul and schizophrenic tempos of Robbers & Cowards and Loyalty to Loyalty are all but gone in favor of sonic conformity. Please come back to us, Cold War Kids. We still remember the good times.
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