Anticipation...
...Is the way I would describe my feelings about Cold War Kids. I anticipate their debut album, I anticipate their live show and I anticipate their energy.
The Tapes n' Tapes / Cold War Kids at the Middle East here in Boston is not for a couple weeks and I'm sitting here listening to Up In Rags, one of CWK's two EP's, and I'm already craving their performance. It's been some time since I've been this pumped about a live show - oh, yeah, besides the Radiohead show, which is a day before this show.
Up In Rags and With Our Wallets Full are fantastic EP's. I bounce back and forth listening to them and don't even think I can decide on my favorite. Both have outstanding song lyrics and rhythmic styles. I think that there is a lot of rhythm lacking in many of the bands out there today. And I'm not talking about crazy syncopated jazz rhythms, I'm talking about an underlining pulse that fluctuates along with a deep bass line to structure the songs being. So many bands focus on the reverb of a guitar and the airy piano and floating vocals to make their band seem, well, trendy and hip. The drums and bass are the most essential instruments in song writing. And these boys from Fullerton, CA know this all to well.
Added on top of their strong foundation you have Nathan's vocals and lyrics that many have compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley. To me, that wasn't the first thing that jumped out. I found a similarity in Nathan's singing style to that of Zach De La Rocha. And that might be because I was introduced to CWK not through their studio performance but during their live performance, opening up for Two Gallants. He attacks the mic just like Zach would do and hits each note with such force that his vocals, while whinny at times, have a tendency to shatter through you.
The final striking feature of Cold War Kids is the guitar work. Being a guitar player myself it is one of the first instruments my ears tune to when listening to a band. The sound here is part retro and has that California surf twang to it and part indie rock. At times the guitar player reminds me of Edge, taking a similar minimalist approach to his solos. That was always an important lesson in music class that it's not how many notes you play but it's how you play them and how you select them that matters.
When I asked Nathan after their performance what plans were in place for an album, he said that they have a lot of ideas in the hopper and that once they get off the road - currently over in Europe - they are going to settle down and collect their thoughts.
YOU MUST SEE THIS BAND LIVE!!!!
But in the meantime, follow the links below to hear their sound. But again, you can not fully understand this group until you see them live.
Buy their EP's, here
Be their myspace friend (see where they are playing near you), here
Download a few tracks:
Hospital Beds
Tell Me In The Morning
i am so curious about T+Tapes..i read great stuff but the mp3's i have heard are 'eehh' still i am tempted to go to (and tape) them at the middle east..we shall see.
Posted by
March2theSea |
4:07 PM
dude did you see cwk last night? so fucking good!
Posted by
Dany |
11:30 AM