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Cold War Kids
Behave Yourself
By Jeff Niesel
Southern California-based Cold War Kids continue to build on the momentum they established with the release of 2008’s Loyalty to Loyalty, their breakthrough album that subsequently found them spending most of last year on the road opening for indie icons Death Cab for Cutie. While the EP is painfully short, it still has some real gems. The groovy “Audience” opens the four-song disc, and it’s a soulful number that features falsetto vocals and scattershot drum beats. “Drop the needle and we are playin’ for an audience of one,” croons pianist Nathan Willett before launching into a series of soulful “oooohs.”
The rest of the EP isn’t quite as addictive. A love song of sorts, “Coffee Spoon” is a mellow, jazzy number that could pass for My Morning Jacket. “Santa Ana Winds” has a bit more energy as it features lyrics about the dry winds that cause destructive wildfires throughout Southern California each fall. It’s a rather odd topic but the band makes it work. “Sermons” is probably the disc’s weakest track. Designed to be something of a gospel blues number, it sounds like the band is reaching outside of its comfort zone.
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