Artist: Cold War Kids
Album: Mine is Yours
Label: Interscope
Rating: 3
Long Beach natives Cold War Kids’ new album is filled with grown up melodies and commercial sound. Mine is Yours is a collection of tracks that is passionately played, cleverly written and filled with catchy melodic hooks. The bands ambiguous grace embodies the album as singer Nathan Willett croons to bluesy rock, filling it with emotional fervor, that at times does seem a little disingenuous.
The tracks on the album are slick and sexy, but none really stand out like they did on Robbers & Cowards. This year the band finds itself aiming for a decidedly more arena-friendly style enlisting the help of Jaquaire King, who famously pushed Kings of Leon into a similar direction. Although the album might seem generic at times (one sure low point is “Finally Began”) it isn’t a boring album. Mine is Yours is a transitional piece where the band really tries to establish themselves into a more streamlined genre of music but fights to keep their verbal and musical acuity intact.
Give these tracks a listen: “Sensitive Kid,” “Louder Than Ever”
For fans of: Kings of Leon, The Strokes
– Anastasia Zhuravleva
