California quartet Cold War Kids burst onto the US alternative scene a few years back thanks to storming, riff-based rockers like ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’, although I have to say I found their first two albums, Robbers & Cowards and Loyalty To Loyalty (a top thirty hit in the States), to be pretty underwhelming. Any hopes that the band might have fulfil their early promise have been decisively banished with Mine Is Yours, which regrettably finds the boys following the well-worn path of everyone from Kings Of Leon to The Temper Trap – utilising horribly slick stadium rock production (a big drum sound, bombastic vocals, echoing guitar notes and so on) in a blatant bid for festival headlining glory.
The case for the prosecution becomes stronger when you consider that the band have selected one Jacquire King for production duties – a glance through his credits reveals previous work with Modest Mouse and the aforementioned Kings Of Leons, both leading lights in the current trend towards overblown stadium rawk. On Mine Is Yours, you’ll find all of the clichés that have come to dominate in the post-Coldplay climate of mainstream rock (let’s be honest – is there anything truly alternative about this new school of meat-and-potatoes indie?): there is an “adult alternative” vibe; there are songs about “relationships and commitment”; there are “impassioned” vocals.
Realistically, is there anything more exciting about this style of music than, say, Bryan Adams or Bon Jovi? I am even going to propose a name for this genre of overblown rock – nu-stadium. To be fair, the Vampire Weekend/Talking Heads-style groove of ‘Bulldozer’ and the bedraggled art-noise of ‘Cold Toes On The Cold Floor’ do hint at intriguing possibilities for Cold War Kids, but it ain’t nearly enough to save the day.
The White Stripes and The Black Keys have shown that it’s perfectly possible to attain huge popularity without compromising on musical invention. Next time, it would be nice not to see Cold War Kids take the easy route.