Cold War Kids give away single, debut new guitarist

Early last year, the L.A. indie rock quartet Cold War Kids made a bunch of new fans -- yet perhaps also lost some grumbly old ones --  with its third album, "Mine Is Yours." The mature, autumnal record had an ear for big pop melodies, gentle sonic experiments and lyrical details about the trials of domestic life, and was helmed by noted producer Jacquire King.

Even more has changed for the band in the interim. The group has parted ways with founding guitarist Jonathan Russell, whose spare single-string leads were a defining part of its sound. Former Modest Mouse guitarist Dann Gallucci will take his place (and, seeing as Gallucci was replaced in his old band by Johnny Marr, we're glad he found a good new musical home).

The new lineup is giving away its new two-track single, "Minimum Day," on its website to introduce itself and announce a new three-night residency tour with stops in Portland, Ore., Seattle and San Francisco (no L.A. dates for now). The A-side is a bit trashier than "Mine Is Yours," with a strong mod rock and garage influence; the B-side is even more interesting, putting singer Nathan Willett's slurry harmonies atop the echoing vocals and hissing drum machines of Suicide, before brightening up at the song's end. And for those not still in a post-holiday hangover, you can nab Cold War Kids' Christmas single,  "Where Would We Be w/o Christmas?," for free as well.

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Album review: Cold War Kids' 'Mine Is Yours'

Coachella 2011: Cold War Kids command the magic hour

-- August Brown

Photo: Cold War Kids. Credit: Fresh & Clean Media.

Coachella 2011: Cold War Kids command the magic hour

 
The best part of the day at Coachella comes at sundown, when the heat dwindles to a low simmer and everybody is bathed in creamy yellow light. And that's exactly when the Cold War Kids took to the Outdoor stage on Friday evening.

It was an auspicious set time for the scrappy quartet from Long Beach, which recently released its third album, "Mine Is Yours." And on a stage not long ago occupied by another local band made good, the Silversun Pickups, who played after Leonard Cohen a few years back.

"Sorry for those of you who had to not see Lauryn Hill," said lead singer Nathan Willett, displaying the humble sense of appreciation that would define the set. "But it's a compliment."

Images from the 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

Behind him the horizon blushed silky pink by degrees until it faded to the palest blue. Soon a bright white moon materialized above the stage and a forgiving breeze swept across the field.

"This is such a beautiful thing right now, with the sun just going down at the beginning of the festival for you," said Willett. "It's a great memory, and a very special thing for us."

The giant monitors on either side of the stage displayed the view of the audience from the band's perspective, and it was easy to imagine the sense of awe that Willett felt staring at the sea of faces.

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-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Cold War Kids perform at Coachella Friday. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Album review: Cold War Kids' 'Mine Is Yours'

Alt-rock cleanup jobs rarely come more straightforward than Cold War Kids’ “Mine Is Yours,” on which this Long Beach foursome sands the edges from its clattering soul-punk sound.

Swaggering yet sensitive, it’s a record that appears to have been made firmly in the shadow of Kings of Leon, which after years in the underground finally broke through to the mainstream with 2008’s hit “Only by the Night.” Cold War Kids traveled to Nashville to record “Mine Is Yours” with Kings producer Jacquire King, and he gives songs such as “Broken Open” and “Royal Blue” the same arena-ready sheen; frontman Nathan Willett’s vocal hooks seem designed to be bellowed along with $12 beer in hand.

Longtime fans are apt to be disappointed by the change in direction, which for sure renders the band less unique. Yet the best songs here -- “Finally Begin,” “Louder Than Ever,” the aptly titled “Bulldozer” -- run with the kind of streamlined efficiency that can be just as satisfying as arty idiosyncrasy. Unburdened by their trademark clutter, Willett and his bandmates use that extra energy to push forward.

-- Mikael Wood

Cold War Kids
“Mine Is Yours”
Downtown
Two and a half stars (out of four)

Live Review: Cold War Kids at the Wiltern

On the new song “Santa Ana Winds,” Nathan Willett of the Long Beach band Cold War Kids invokes another artist fond of bare, venomous depictions of Southern California. “In between is a basin like the great divide, where the 110 swallows the 105,” he sings. “Chutes and ladders leaving me where I begun, like Joan Didion.”

Willett’s fond of literary allusions in his band’s songs, which are rooted in hot-blooded soul and delivered with the inventiveness of post-punk.  But Didion’s a particularly apt one -- both artists file their efforts down to a spooky, unsparing center. The difference is that when Cold War Kids play them live, as they did with typical precision and swing at the Wiltern on Friday night, they have to figure out how to hold very big rooms with a sound that gets much of its power from what’s not there.

By and large, the band nailed that trick at the Wiltern. If they’ve necessarily lost a bit of the sweaty, incendiary touch that vaulted them from the Silver Lake residency scene into KROQ-staple status, they’ve largely made up for it with the wide scope and flow of their sets.  Now with two full-lengths and a new EP “Behave Yourself” to cull from, the band proves the shared DNA of heartsick blues, acrobatic Motown rhythms and the sonic possibilities of the underground tape-trade (or file-swapping) circuit.