Cold War Kids: Loyalty to Loyalty

The somewhat underground indie rock band, Cold War Kids have begun their sophomore year with the 13 track disc, Loyalty to Loyalty. Hailing from Los Angeles, the Cold War Kids are quite the different type of Alternative Rock. They bring an experimental sound in that is combined with some ‘world’ type influences. With misplaced guitar, fantastic base lines, phenomenal lyrics, jazz beat piano, and the best use of shakers since Radiohead, Cold War Kids is a different type of band that you do not want to overlook. The release of their first album, Robbers and Cowards in 2006 put these guys on the map. Unlike anything most people had experienced before, Robbers and Cowards brought an exhilarating diversity of sounds with lyrics to match. This album (Robbers and Cowards) is absolutely amazing – I recommend it to anyone!

Now, come 2008 Cold War Kids have taken another shot to amaze us with another album. (Please know, that I got this album on iTunes as soon as I could - so in other words I was freakn excited.) Did they succeed? . . . Eh, for the most part yes - Loyalty to Loyalty is better than I originally thought. When I first listened to this album I was not impressed. I was expecting more, I was expecting the same that I got from Robbers and Cowards and it did not come as fast as I want it to. Although I must admit, when I first heard Robbers and Cowards I was not as gung-ho as I am now with the Cold War Kids.

So, back to the topic – Loyalty to Loyalty should be seen as a success by Cold War Kids. It has the atmosphere of being a darker, bluesier, and somewhat slower paced album than the first. It has received many good reviews and has even been featured on certain top Rock Albums of the year. My personal opinion, Robbers and Cowards is better, yet Loyalty to Loyalty is not bad. I think that every time I listen to it I like it more. With 13 tracks this album has plenty of room to impress, and I does. I have to say that the lyrical work that went into this album is probably the most impressive part overall. And with the unbalanced guitar and awkward drums, this album is truly a piece of art that could only come from the Cold War Kids. My favorite part of this album (which is a large reminder back to Robber and Cowards) is the jazz piano that is used in (almost) every song. The use of the piano is very different than what I’ve heard before – which is just another reason why Cold War Kids rock. The single that was released early on, “Something Is Not Right With Me” is a fast paced track with lyrics that I think are actually a bit humorous. My favorite on the disc would have to be “I’ve Seen Enough”, probably because it has the most familiar sound to songs from Robbers and Cowards. The disc starts out strong but throughout the 13 songs the likeness and quality of each goes up and down. I could have done without “Avalanche In B” and “Every Man I Fall For”. The reason for that is probably because I think they’re boring. Too slow and not enough jazztastic Cold War Kids nonsense.

In all honest truth, this album is good - but it is not as good as their first. When I am in the mood for some Cold War Kids I still go back to Robbers and Cowards over Loyalty to Loyalty. The quality of the Cold War Kids second release is good, I am happy with the new music from them but I am certainly not satisfied. Maybe after a few listens I will change my mind – like I said, I enjoy it more and more after every listen, but it’s just not Robbers and Cowards. I would give Loyalty to Loyalty 3 out of 5 stars, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth listening to.