Cold War Kids

I know the first single from the Cold War Kids’ second CD ( Something is not Right with Me) was not met with unbridled enthusiasm by all FUV listeners - or all FUV staff. This, after the consensus was that their first album contained some undeniable songs such as We Used to Vacation and Hang Me Up to Dry. The second album is called Loyalty to Loyalty and it doesn’t contain anything as irresistible as those two tunes but it is a worthy follow-up by this Fullerton, CA quartet.  Mexican Dogs and Against Privacy sounded especially worthy last night.

The October 15th show at Webster Hall delivered on the promise of the CDs.  CWK’s best feature is uncrowded arrangements that allow songs to breathe. Like a lot of Killing Joke or the Doors, the guitar is used neither as a lead or rhythm instrument. It instead swirls in and out of songs with dissonant flourishes or a few notes strung together to propel a song forward.  Bassman Matt Maust, whose beard resembles Peter Griffin’s bird’s nest, plays flamboyantly and well enough to hold the band together while Nathan Willett bangs piano and convincingly lilts his uneasy tales that tap into a certain brand of American desperation.

The highs were very high and the valleys (not every song on their two albums is a home-run) were brief as the Cold War Kids always recaptured attention by de-constructing what they had built or bringing the building to a new level.  Memorable moments included guitarist Jonnie Russell smashing a cymbal with a maraca while he held his axe with his other hand and a couple of the guys in AA Bondy on the last encore Saint John featuring clarinet and trombone.  See pictures at 1938Music.