While you weren't looking, Cold War Kids got adopted by the NME and took a place alongside acts like Kings Of Leon and the Killers as "bigger in Britain." During that time, like two years now, they've been patiently plugging away on a followup to Robbers & Cowards, the debut album that seemed rushed out (to capitalize on their EP buzz and signing to Downtown). Their sophomore full-length, Loyalty to Loyalty, is due September 23rd via Downtown and you can hear what all that time has done to their sound. The album preview track "Something Is Not Right With Me" is streaming at MySpace and impacts Alternative on August 5th.
The band is from Fullerton, California and consists of: Nathan Willett (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Jonnie Russell (guitar, vocals, percussion), Matt Maust (bass guitar), and Matt Aveiro (drums).
The quartet's best-loved songs, Hang Me Out To Dry and Hospital Beds, performed on piano and sung with Jeff Buckley-esque desperation by frontman Nathan Willett, became radio staples and created international demand for the band's live shows.
While touring between 2006 and this year, they crossed the US five times, Europe four times and had one "incredible" trip to Australia.
"We just kept on touring and it got to a point where we were asking each other: 'How long are we gonna keep this up?' " Willett said.
Three of the four bandmates met while studying at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, but the Cold War Kids are not trying to preach to anybody.
"You have to maintain this constant balance as a songwriter," Willett says. "Our songs are all written from the perspective of characters - and while those characters are born of my mind, they are not songs about me. Our own views on religion are not things we write songs about."
"Even if we put it outside of ourselves and just observe it for what it is, this is so interesting," he says. "As you say, the indie rock world has a problem with Christianity. It was so interesting to see how seemingly tolerant that world is on the surface but how intolerant and inconsistent it really is underneath."
"And the whole time," Willett adds, "it's been incredible how little anybody has ever asked us about our views."
Upcoming Tour Dates:
08/22/08 Outside Lands Festival, San Francisco, CA
08/23/08 Sunset Junction Festival, Los Angeles, CA
08/24/08 Les Schwab Amp, Bend, OR
09/20/08 Street Scene, San Diego, CA
09/27/08 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
09/28/08 Richards on Richards, Vancouver, Canada
09/29/08 The Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA
10/01/08 The Neurolux, Boise, ID
10/02/08 In The Venue, Salt Lake City, UT
10/03/08 Boulder theater, Boulder, CO
10/10/08 Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis, MN
10/11/08 Vic theater, Chicago, IL
10/14/08 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
10/15/08 Webster Hall, NYC
10/16/08 Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
10/17/08 theater of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
10/18/08 Nightclub 9:30, Washington, D.C.
10/20/08 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
10/21/08 Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN
10/23/08 Lola's, Ft. Worth, TX
10/24/08 Emo's Alt. Lounge-Outside, Austin, TX
10/25/08 Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
10/26/08 Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans, LA
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