In their latest album, Cold War Kids can't seem to heat things up.
The Long Beach, California band starts off 2011 with a brand new album, making it three years since their last, Loyalty To Loyalty. However, this third album of theirs seems to fall short of expectation from fans of the prior two. For Mine Is Yours, the Kids brought in an outside producer for the first time, Jacquire King, the same guy who worked on the latest Kings Of Leon album. Here, he produces the same effect- disappointed fans who yearn for the harder, darker, edginess that studio recordings so easily smooth over and drone out. The one aspect that continues to stand out and make it an enjoyable listen is Nathan Willett's vocals. He gives a folksy, blues tinge to the Kings Of Leon-sounding tracks.
The album's namesake track, "Mine Is Yours", has a pleasant, catchy melody yet is a predictable opener. There is some variation on "Out Of The Wilderness", where the band employs electric guitars and alternates between high and low intensities throughout the track. Here we get a tinge that there is some "rock" left in these "indie-rockers". Most of the tracks, though, tend to all flow together for an easy listen that probably won't leave you feeling much of the impact they used to deliver in their past two albums. Similar to other indie-rock counterparts, the latest from Cold War Kids borders on a more mainstream sound without much memorability.
By Chelsea Olson
Check it out for yourself:
Tweet me!
