Robbers and Cowards: Cold War Kids Steal Hearts with Stories

You ever find those CDs that you give one spin in your car and three weeks later you haven't changed it? Or that album you manually increase its selection on the shuffle function of your Ipod? Well I have one for you, The Cold War Kids' debut full-length EP, Robbers and Cowards (2005). This discovery is a late arrival that made me cast my pride to hell for missing it. How was every Louisiana rock lover I know unaware of this great release? I wonder what kind of storm (hint, hint) blindsided our contemporary music knowledge. I'm glad to take some passion back-as Robbers and Cowards proves to be a staple of my 2007.

Robbers and Cowards' initial song, "We used to vacation", reflects their sound throughout the album. This addictive blues jam climaxes in mixes of Modest Mouse and bullhorn vocals (similar to BINGO ). "We used to vacation" is a ballad that alternates from cathartic rock verses, relating a story about the speaker getting drunk, missing his son's graduation, and being the cause of disappointment and anger in the family, to a slow tempo promise of abstinence. Formally it imitates the car accident climax. I've never heard a song matching the emotions of sitting in a court ordered AA class-a situation the statistics reflect LA can empathize with better than any other state- to music so directly, yet void of self depreciation or trivialization. Lines like "Still things could be much worse; natural disasters on the evening news" and "this will all blow over in time" effectively take away any kind of self pity.

Atonement is the major theme of Robbers and Cowards. Even when our sons are "robbing from the poor", not your typical bold claim from an indie rock band-especially in corporate America-The Cold War kids believe in atonement. The Cold War Kids are easy to relish for the honest turns in their lyrics. Lyrics like "I confess to self deception" paired with a distinct high pitched singing that borders on screaming and "I believe that words can change the heart" tap into a religiously perverse, yet spiritual tone, much like Spiritualized. These boys have no problem belting out heartfelt songs and always manage to put their unique spin on the narrative. For instance, how about "She's laughing like a choir girl. When she doubles over it sounds like Halleujah"? Any writer would envy these lyrics.

Before Robbers and Cowards quotable lyrics, its songs flourish many detailed musical attributes. The last song of the album starts off with a harmonic jam, then slows down to staccato style guitar moving up octaves, giving it the sound a metallic surfer twang that conjures the Beach Boys. "Robbers" is an acoustic song which is a nice change of pace of half way through the album. "God, make up your mind" is comparable to an early Syd Barrett, Floyd composition. It is a lovely and haunting account told from the "backseat of your family station wagon" on a road trip across America. The song starts off with a dreamy guitar distortion, pursued by slow, tinkling keys and a xylophone, and is later interrupted by a pounding harpsichord with a climax that resembles Roger Waters' style from The Wall.

I can't resist breaking down one more song lyrically for y'all-just in case you're still not committed to add the Cold War Kids to your collection. "Hospital beds" is a war song-another effective, but not overt or typical commentary on overwhelming present situation wonderfully handled. The song starts off with a speaker complaining of the boredom of being in a military hospital. A little vignette is painted of the doctor's and nurses being elusive, especially under the influences of heavy sedatives. The following chorus to this song is where the song distinguishes itself as great: "I got one friend lying across from me. I did not choose him. He did not choose me. We got no chance of recovery. Joy and misery." The refrain repeats "the joy and misery," presenting a contradicting yet complementary perspective.