Artist Profile: Cold War Kids
30 March 2006 |
Cold War Kids have a sound that seems displaced from their current time and place. The bluesy four-piece from Fullerton, California (or The OC, as it’s better known these days) sound like they should be a part of the incestuous Montreal scene, with at least one or two members of the Arcade Fire in their backing band. Also, despite bursting onto the indie scene only recently, their jangly, bluesy sound wouldn’t be out of place in the late ‘60′ and ’70’s of the actual Cold War-era. Sonically, they sound like a unique blend of the haunting vocals of Win Butler and the passionate ferocity of Isaac Brock, with the bluesy tone Jack White’s voice thrown into the mix for good measure, all backed by the instrumentalists of Wolf Parade or the Arcade Fire.
I’m as excited about Cold War Kids as I am about Heypenny, which is saying a lot, and Cold War Kids are another ludicrously unsigned band as well. As for that last fact though, I wouldn’t expect them to remained unsigned for long, as buzzworthy performances at SXSW have record labels scrambling all over the place trying to sign them. One record label executive (can you call people who run indie labels “executives”?) I talked to said with confidence that he thought they were the next huge band in the indie scene, and I’d have to agree, as these guys really seem to have the potential to light the blogging world on fire in the same way that the Arcade Fire did a little over a year ago and Tapes ‘N Tapes are doing now. So far only My Old Kentucky Blog and Rock Insider have featured these guys (here an here, check out Rock Insider for more mp3s), which seems criminal considering the raw, unbridled talent these guys possess. There’s an intangible quality about bands like the Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens that contributed to them blowing up in the blogosphere in the way they did last year, and I feel like Cold War Kids possess that same intangible mysticism about them, most immediately evident in the cryptic graphic design they feature on their website and MySpace.
“Hospital Beds” is my favorite song of theirs, an absolutely awe-inspiring track (just wait for the “I got one friend laying across from me…” part at the end) that’s sure to spark the interest of lots of listeners. The track is the closest thing they have to a single on their upcoming Up In Rags EP, due out later this month along with the simultaneously-released With Our Wallets Full EP. “We Used To Vacation” is my other favorite track by them, also found on the Up In Rags EP. I’m also posting all of the other tracks available on their website, “Tell Me In The Morning” from the Wallets Full EP, along with “The Soloist In The Living Room” and “Heavy Boots” from their debut Mulberry Street EP. Incidentally, Cold War Kids are also SPIN’s “Band of the Day” today, so be sure to head over there and check out the feature on them, where you can view their full list of tour dates from their upcoming jaunt across the country with Saddle Creek favorites Two Gallants. I’m frantically trying to figure out how I can get to see them live, as they’ve excluded the Virginia-Maryland-DC area from the tour, and I’m even considering trying to catch their Chapel Hill, NC date. See what the buzz is about for yourself below:
MP3s: [free downloads from ColdWarKids.com]
“Hospital Beds” - Cold War Kids [highly recommended]
“We Used To Vacation” - Cold War Kids [via Rock Insider]
“Tell Me In The Morning” - Cold War Kids
“The Soloist In The Living Room” - Cold War Kids
“Heavy Boots” - Cold War Kids














